


Somewhere Only We Know

by FrostStar, SnowyCarnations (CrimsonCarnations)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Blood and Torture, Human AU, M/M, Piratalia, Slavery, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Violence, pirate, pirate Arthur, slave spain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-01-30 15:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12656487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostStar/pseuds/FrostStar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonCarnations/pseuds/SnowyCarnations
Summary: Antonio shook his head and held Arthur’s hand tighter. He pulled himself a bit closer to the Brit. “I am not lying to you. I don’t have any reason to lie to you. I think you are well aware how honest I am about my feelings. I have never cried in front of anyone until I cried in front of you. I let my stubbornness show enough that I got punished because I didn’t want to be fake about my feelings. I am not lying” He paused. “I don’t really know what feelings you have. And I probably don’t return them completely. But I know that I feel at least something when you hold my hand like that. I don’t really know what it is, but I want to learn more about it”





	1. Chapter 1

Antonio had always been rebellious. Why the fuck would he accept such a thing? He was stolen from his family and prodded and poked as they tried to force him to work. Why would he accept that and act as if it was fine? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He’d rather develop whip scars on his back and look like a ‘bad slave’ than to listen to them and do as they had said. He doubted he’d get bought, especially since practically his whole body was covered in scars. It was starting to get worse and worse. The punishments started to get harder and harder to deal with. He had to start working out in the sun without a shirt because if he wasn’t careful he’d get the scraps of fabric they called clothes stuck on his scars.

Eventually, the rest of the ‘batch’ was ready and Antonio had no choice but to stand in the line. He was doubtful that anyone would try to purchase him. He didn’t really care. He’d already had an escape plan. Not to mention sometimes he overheard that pirates came to see the slaves they could get ahold of. Antonio didn’t want that. He wasn’t prepared to be on a boat for that long. Especially since he couldn’t really escape from on a boat. What would he be able to do? Swim away? Good luck with that, Antonio wasn’t ready to jump into shark infested waters. So he supposed he’d just have to pray that no pirates showed up and wished to take him.

Arthur needed a new slave and heard about a new auction being held soon and he thought it was perfect timing really. He and his crew stepped off onto land just in time to see the lineup form. He sauntered up to the head of the trade to put his name down, mostly because if he did buy one he wouldn’t be able to pick it up until the end. He would have to make sure any he bought would have the physique to handle laborious jobs, and in the sun as well. On the seas the sun was a lot more damaging with the reflective water than land. He scanned the line and his eyes landed on a few that automatically seemed would do well. He wouldn’t be able to narrow it down until they started to show them off individually. That would give him a chance to gauge their personality and demeanor. He wasn’t keen on the ones who were to meek, they wouldn’t be able to handle his crew. He also liked to break them in himself, but not ruin them completely.

Antonio spotted the pirates and growled. Oh of course. Right after he mentioned not wanting to see any pirates there was a whole crew of them at the auction. He crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the look of irritation from his handler until it came to the point that he was slapped for it. He winced and glared at the man before crossing his arms tighter to prove he didn't plan to listen to him just because he chose to hit him. At that moment the man grabbed him by his hair and threw him to the ground. He had to uncross his arms to try and brace himself. He hurt his wrists in catching himself and he winced. He knew better than to stand. He would stay down until he was told to get up or else he’d just be punished worse. So he would stay down until they had him move up for the “showcase”.

Arthur looked up in interest when there was a slight commotion and a smirk started to form as he watched the little scene. That nearly cinched the decision for him. He was a tad disappointed the slave didn’t try anything else and moved his gaze back to the front of the lineup where they were starting to show off the slaves, mostly just describing their personality and how they would benefit whoever wanted to buy. They would get to get a closer look once everyone had been ‘introduced’ since it would be hard for everyone to get a closer look at the same time. He already started to cross off a few choices based on their descriptions.

Antonio sighed and stood up to move forward when he was told. They were not kind about his description at all. It almost seemed like they were trying to prevent people from getting him. His handler forced him to turn to show the many marks from his punishments and he growled as his hair was grabbed at again and he was practically dragged away again to get back into the line. He pulled away when they finally let go of his hair and rubbed at his head. He hissed slightly and moved away. He was tugged back towards them and growled. Again, he was slapped for this. He grumbled and looked away. In all honesty he wanted to get away from here, but he wasn’t sure what the cost for that would be.

Arthur’s brow rose when it came to the Spaniard’s showing. It didn’t deter him in the slightest though. Especially when he was described as rebellious as well, that actually furthered his leaning towards buying the Spaniard over the other candidate. Although he already guessed rebellious was a thing with the little scene earlier. He started to make his way over to the other candidate, a Portuguese slave, once all the showings were through. He took his time looking over the first one before deciding to go look over the Spaniard. He hummed thoughtfully when he saw the brunette up close and started to circle him to look him over better. He figured he wouldn’t easily comply with being told to turn and he wanted to make this quick and easy before deciding on the purchase.

Antonio growled when the pirate walked close to him. He didn’t want anything to do with pirates. Especially those who tried to purchase him. He smirked slightly and just to make it difficult for him, turned as Arthur tried to walk around him. He was grabbed at once again and growled. He hissed slightly. He wasn’t supposed to speak, but honestly he was going to be punished if he wasn’t purchased any way, so what was the point? “Morning, puta, kill anyone important this morning? Or are you just dressed like that to be a show boat and you really spend your life scrounging for money by taking it from people weaker than you” He smirked.

Arthur’s brow rose and his mouth twitched in amusement. That decided it for him, this was the perfect opportunity and he wasn’t going to waste it. The other candidate was good but this one had spirit and he loved being able to crush and mold it as he saw fit. He ignored the Spaniard completely and turned to the one handling him. He leaned close to inquire about purchasing him, not wanting the brunette hear and hoped he could  close the deal elsewhere. He would have to leave and pick up the Spaniard later anyway.

Antonio rolled his eyes when Arthur ignored him and he huffed. He was hoping for a retort. But he supposed he didn’t really need one to see that something was going on. He crossed his arms again and watched them talk for a moment. His handler gestured for Arthur to follow after him. “Are you really sure you want him? We haven’t been able to break him yet. I’m not sure that you really want him” he shrugged slightly. “But if you do, I’ll go ahead and give him to you for cheap. He’s not worth a ton since he’s so damn stubborn”

Arthur nodded once “Yes, I do want him. Just give me the price now and I will be back later with the payment when he’s ready to go.” He gave his name again to be used as a hold slip of sorts. When it was settled he left to get the funds ready and update the crew on who the slave was. He had to make sure the newer members knew that only he was to lay hands on the slave for any reason, unless they were given explicit permission otherwise. He had about an hour before the exhibition process was over and those who bought could pick up their new slaves.

He nodded and shrugged. He told him the price and wrote everything down for him. He dragged Antonio back inside to start preparing him for the pirate. He put him into real clothes, well pants, at least. It was all he would get anyway, unless Arthur chose to give him real clothes. Antonio growled slightly and shifted uncomfortably in the pants. He wished to leave this place. But he was more than pissed that he was purchased by a pirate. The specific people he had already complained about.

Arthur got everything together before making his way off the ship, only bringing two others with him. he still had a bit of time so he started to wander through the shops. He had already decided long ago he wasn’t going to get any clothes for any new slaves until they earned it in some way. Once he spent enough time looking he turned around to make his way back to pick up his slave. He wouldn’t start breaking him until tomorrow, planning on letting him stew in the brig until he was ready. He’d probably have to get his medic to look at the Spaniard’s marks, not wanting them to be infected and having him die before he was actually useful.

Antonio growled when he was pushed out towards Arthur. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that Arthur had brought back up and he growled slightly. What did he expect that Antonio would be able to do? Despite the fact that he put up a rather rebellious attitude he wasn’t very strong. He grumbled heavily and crossed his arms over his chest. “You never responded to me earlier. Are we heading onto a ship or out to the street? i heard you couldn’t even pay full price for me”

Arthur nearly scoffed, he honestly could have paid any price that was asked. He gave the other an amused side glance before speeding up his pace, his ship coming into view as they walked “It really isn’t my fault they thought you were worth less than the other slaves. I certainly wasn’t going to offer more than they were asking.” He was sure his name also had something to do with it, but when he actually wasn’t planning on raiding a place he actually knew how to be civil and pay for things normally. He didn’t bother answering whether they were going on boat or land since they were close enough to his ship anyway.

Antonio’s eyes widened and he growled slightly. “There is no way of measuring a humans worth in money and those who think there is a way are disgusting and don’t deserve to be walking among the rest” he hissed. He wasn’t going to walk very easily now. Arthur would have to force him along if he planned on taking him anywhere at this rate.

Arthur scoffed and waved his hand, the two crew members he had with him stepping close to ‘help’ the Spaniard along. He paused before his ship and glanced over at Antonio, a large smirk forming on his lips before he boarded, the two crew members following along with Antonio. He waved his hand to dismiss the crew, the two already holding the Spaniard’s arms continued to move him, all the way to a cell in the brig. They left as soon as he was locked inside. Arthur wouldn’t make his visit until the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Antonio growled slightly and fought against their tugging until he was already down in the brig and there wasn’t really much point anymore. He hit this cell doors with his hand first, wincing at the pain it sent through his knuckles. He kicked it after that and growled slightly. What good did he do in here? Well at least he was used to sleeping on the floor. At least at the other place he had something to cover with. Here it was just the stupid pants he was given and the floor.

Arthur went about the rest of the day charting his next course and planning out the raids. He went to bed late and woke up late.He took his time with his morning routine before heading down to the brig to greet his slave. he was hoping the cold got to him some. “Alright slave, I have a few things to tell you, give you your duties and all that.”

Antonio had to admit that he hated the cold. But he wouldn’t do anything in return for that. He wouldn’t even admit to Arthur that he  _ was  _ cold. At some point last night he had fallen asleep curled up in the corner. When he heard Arthur coming he immediately stood up and leaned on the wall as if nothing had happened. He crossed his arms and grumbled. “And what makes you think I will just do them for you?” He hissed.

Arthur shrugged “It’s based on a reward and punishment system. No food, you stay down here, no clothes. You don’t get anything. If you get too out of line, you’ll keep getting more scars to add to your collection. Simple. I don’t mind leaving you down here for a week or so if that’s what is needed for you to start listening.” The threat was very obvious, and he wasn’t going to go back on it either.

Antonio grumbled heavily and looked away from Arthur. “Well I won’t make any decisions until I know what the fuck you want me to do so I guess we are both going to have to compromise then aren’t we? Your threats don’t scare me. I haven’t eaten in a week and if you want me to stay alive you’ll have to feed me. Being down here is nothing. It’s more privacy than I have had in my entire life, and I am used to no clothes. Clearly I don’t care about scars so you’ll have to make some new threats.”

Arthur snorted “There is no such thing as compromise for a  _ slave _ . and honestly I have no qualms about you dying.” He stated it coldly and crossed his own arms over his chest “You duties will be like any other servant or slave I have on this ship.” He listed off the duties, like cleaning and assisting the cook with the more unpleasant tasks, etc. He did buy the Spaniard to be a more personal slave but he would more or less have to ease him into that, with punishments or not they would have to see.

Antonio growled and looked at Arthur. “I doubt you would purchase a slave just to let him die off before you even got a chance. I get the feeling that the biggest reason you bought such a rebellious slave was for the chance to break him? So I honestly doubt you’ll just let me die. But by all means, please do. Let me die. I would love to escape the hell hole that is my life. Trust me I don’t care. I’d rather be dead than serve as a slave for the rest of my life. So if you really do want to waste your money, by all means, do so” He hissed. It was only half false. He didn’t really want to die. But he would rather die than live on his whole life as a slave. If he was given the option he’d love to go home to Spain and regain his freedom and his real life. But he couldn’t do that now.

Arthur snorted before turning around “Have it your way. Money is no concern of mine, I have more than I could ever need and can always gain more than i could want.” He would let him stew for another day. They were heading to colder parts so it would end up making the brig a lot more colder than normal. He didn’t want to waste his money really, but he wasn’t above it. He wasn’t going to compromise with his property, nor was he going to give into any of his shit. He was surprised at how quickly the slave caught onto him though, none of his slaves knew he liked breaking them until he actually told them when he was successful.

Antonio rolled his eyes and sat back down. He held his arms and pulled his knees to his chest. Now that food had been mentioned he noticed the pain in his stomach. But he wasn’t about to give in the day after he was purchased. Maybe if he did just a little bit though. He could do it and not be happy about it. That’s the only reason he got fed at all before. He suffered through the chores so that he wouldn’t starve. From what he had heard starving was a ridiculously painful way to go. He’d just have to see tomorrow how everything went and decide then. But at this rate he might have to do something. At least a little so that he could get a bit of food. He had already told himself though, that he would never break for Arthur. He’d never give him that satisfaction.

Arthur went about the ship like normal, not letting the botched start to his day get to him. They actually ended up making more progress towards their next mark then he was actually expecting, which lifted his mood quite a bit. He did the same thing as yesterday as per routine, sleep late and wake up late. he took a bit more time than the day before to make his way down to the brig though and leaned against the doorway, casually crossing his arms over his chest “Have a nice night?” A smirk started to form as he became amused, looking over the brunette.

Antonio sighed and grumbled heavily. “Yeah sure whatever.” he huffed. “Look this has nothing to do with you and your bullshit attitude but to be completely honest with you I have already set up my plans for how I am going to die and starving wasn’t on the list. So by no means have you even gotten a sliver of anything out of me  But since I’d appreciate not suffering. I’ll do some stupid fucking chores, puta” He hissed.

Arthur frowned “Yeah no. If you actually want food, that’s not how you’re going to talk to me either.” He pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer to the cell, a brow raised as he waited for either an answer of understanding or an answer of refusal. Which would mean he would end up leaving without the Spaniard once again. Though this time he would add a day, and that would be the case for anytime he left the brunette down here, each time an extra day would be added.

Antonio’s eyes widened and he growled. “You didn’t say I had to be nice to you! You said that it was reward and punishment based. What so does doing your stupid chores for you because you’re too busy or lazy or whatever bullshit reason you have not equate enough?! Your stupid system is rigged. What reason do I have to be nice to you?! You pay for a person and treat them like they are property and as if they are some object you don’t need to take care of and expect them to work for you for free for no reward? Not even a scrap of food?! That’s bullshit!” He paused. Did he really want to do this? Was food worth sinking to being nice? If he was fed once he could last a bit longer and fight it back again. In fact that sounded like a good routine. Pretend to be nice until he was fed then go back to rebelling. He supposed that now it depended on Arthur’s response to his complaint.

Arthur scoffed “I never really explained the rewards so you can’t really complain, besides I  _ bought _ you. I can do whatever the fuck I want with you, and if you had more time with the trade you would realize you have no place to be talking.” His eyes narrowed and he took a step back, dropping his arms to clasp behind his back “I’ll give you one more chance before i leave you down here for another two days.” His tone once again was cold “I did in fact buy you because you had more spirit than the rest, but that’s because more spirit equals more work out of you before you die.” He wanted to roll his eyes, he actually treated his slaves like normal servants once the fun of breaking them was over.

Two days? Shit he would have to suffer down here for two days if he didn’t cave right now? In all honesty he wasn’t able to keep track of the time long enough for one day, let alone being down here for two days. He growled slightly and crossed his arms again. He had to weigh his options carefully here. Before, he had eaten every 10 days. It had been 9. He wasn’t sure if changing that by being stubborn right now was worth it. There was always the chance Arthur didn’t even actually plan to feed him anyway. But it was a slim chance. He’d have to feed him eventually if he wanted him to be able to work properly. God he was so conflicted. His stubborn side told him to just turn and sit. He’d stay for two days then. But his logical side told him that it wasn’t worth this to starve and he should just do it. Though if food was the only reward what was the point? Not starving. “I...I’ve got to be completely honest, you’ve got me conflicted. I don’t know what to do” He sighed. “I ate before every 10 days no matter what because if I was going to die they were going to kill me of their choices. Whatever that meant. It has been 9 days. So I guess logically I really shouldn’t be fighting you on this” he muttered. God the surrender felt terrible on his tongue and he hadn’t even really said much.

Arthur's eyes narrowed a bit more, that wasn't even an answer. “That doesn't answer whether you are to stay down here or if you've realized your error. I'm not willing to spend too much time down here either.” His face smoothed out as he became a little irritated over his amusement and expectancy from before and he didn't want to show he was irritated, that might ruin the other's apparent ‘inner struggle’ and he would have to waste another two days. He didn't really care for any backstory either, it meant nothing to him “At this rate you'll barely get rewarded let alone get the basics for living.” He snorted

Antonio’s eyes widened and he huffed. What did he have to do? Spell it out in letters? Was Arthur really that empty headed? He grumbled in annoyance. “I suppose I’ll have to spell it out then, if hints like that can-” he paused and sighed heavily. Right. He couldn’t continue to talk to Arthur like that if he wanted food. “I...I’ll do the chores. I guess I have “realised my error” as you put it” he muttered. Though in all reality if anyone had an error it was the pirate in the room who purchased people and stole, he was sure. Not that Antonio would say that out loud right now. No, he’d just have to “be good” for a while if he wanted to get the-wait “basics for living?” he blinked “Now I am just confused” he muttered “I thought that the ‘basics of living’ were the rewards”

Arthur's amusement came back at the others obvious struggle to not insult him as he talked. His brows rose in slight surprise the Spaniard hasn't realized he had separated punishments and rewards yesterday. “Of course they're separate, taking away food and such is a punishment. You do what I want you get the basics. There's two ways to be rewarded. You keep from getting punished, which is fairly easy, in a certain time-frame, or you do more than is expected of you. Which just means you exceeded my expectations is all. The rewards are simple at first, little upgrades to what you already get, eventually once you earn all the upgrades, which I highly doubt you would given your attitude already, you will get to attend the trips to land the crew likes to enjoy and other things. Of course if that ever happens you will have two crew members with you at all times. But again that's probably not going to happen so you won't really need to worry about it.” He hoped that with him already dismissing the Spaniard being able to keep from earning punishment enough to be rewarded would cause that stubbornness to be used to his advantage here.


	3. Chapter 3

Antonio paused and tilted his head. Arthur was so different. He’d never been offered ‘upgrades’ food, sleep, warmth. Those were all rewards. He didn’t get any ‘upgrades’ like that. That was why he was always so stubborn. He blinked at the next bit and huffed heavily. “You have such little faith in my abilities” He huffed. “especially for someone who has never seen the kind of work I do” He crossed his arms again. He had a feeling that was manipulation. But his stubborn nature made him want to prove the pirate wrong. He huffed. “I bet I could e-” Fuck that was another insult. Just shut up Antonio. Shut up and do the chores. He’d prove him wrong without words. Now it was a personal goal. He didn’t even care really about the rewards. He just had to prove he could now.

“I see you as you've shown me.” Arthur shrugged before turning and signaling one of his crew to help escort the Spaniard to the top deck. He turned back to unlock the brunettes cell. If he did good today he would come back to an actual blanket and pillow. If he made it to the first reward it would be something better then sleeping in the brig. “You have a plate up in the kitchens and after that someone will show you around the ship before you get on with your duties.”

Antonio watched him for a moment before sighing and nodding. At least he got to eat before he worked. He stepped closer to the doors and waited a moment. He wasn’t sure if that was Arthur implying he could go with this crew member or if he was supposed to wait for permission to leave the cell. When he was sure he could, he followed after the crew member to the kitchen and blinked in confusion. He’d never really been on a boat before, especially not one as big as this so he was honestly quite glad he’d be getting some kind of ‘tour’ so he didn’t end up lost. Getting lost would be the least productive in proving Arthur wrong, aside from fucking up and getting punished, that is.

Arthur waited until they were both in the doorway before following after up to the deck. He veered away to continue with his own duties. He already had the cook put enough of the leftover scraps to constitute as a meal on a plate for the slave. It wasn't the best obviously, and it was too small to be completely filling, which was the point. It usually made one work harder for the better food. Eventually he would be eating with the crew and choosing what he wanted rather than have scraps. He figured the tour would take slightly less than an hour so he should see the brunette start to work by the time Arthur decided to conduct his next round.

Antonio was quick to take the scraps and begin to eat them. He may be stubborn and hard to control but he did know better than to take his time eating. Not that any normal person would be able to take their time with scraps. Honestly, though he doubted Arthur cared or knew, even this was more than he’d normally get. Honestly if you could consider a thin slice of bread a meal then good for you. All Antonio knew was that it was never enough. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at the crew member expectantly. What was he supposed to do with the plate and where were they going first. That’s all he really cared about right now. He kind of hoped he would get to work in the sun at least a bit. He wanted to warm up.

The crew member was rather gruff when he was first with the Spaniard alone. He simply pointed to the sink with a snort “Wash it and set it to the side so we can get this over with.” He grumbled. He knew he wasn’t allowed to touch the slave, but nothing was said about attitude. A slave was a slave and he didn’t know why this one was being treated differently from the rest. He started to give a tour of the ship, quick and blunt about everything, not seeing the point in letting the Spaniard wander.

Antonio rolled his eyes. “Ya know I was never told I had to respect you so you can kindly fuck right off with the attitude” He hissed. He followed the crew member with crossed arms and a heavy growl. He was honestly glad that the tour was over with fast. “Oh thank you, so fucking helpful” he snapped. He turned on his heel to fill a bucket with a water and soap and start to wash the deck.

The crew members jaw clenched at the attitude but he really couldn't do anything to retaliate lest he wanted the wrath of the captain on himself. He gave the other his first chore before leaving, more than a little pissed he couldn't solve this with a fight like normal with anyone else.

Arthur noticed his slave being shown around and gave him time to settle into his first chore before making his way over to inquire about whether he was shown everything properly. He thought it was a bit too quick for him to be shown what his duties were and how to do them in that short time span. “I can see you know how to clean. Were you shown everything on the tour?”

Antonio turned to look at Arthur when he came over and he nodded. “Yeah, well I didn’t spend the whole time I was there fighting against the people in charge” He muttered. “Oh yeah, let him know he’s the best at giving tours. I know where  _ everything  _ is” If Arthur didn’t pick up on the sarcasm he might just laugh. No, the tour was shite and he already didn’t know for certain where things were. Fortunately for now he knew the deck and that’s what he was cleaning.

Arthur’s brows raised slightly at the others tone, but decided to let it slide as he focused on what he  said “So you’re telling me your ‘guide’ did a shit job doing what I told him to do.” He didn’t even say it as a question, mostly just reiterating what was said. He frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose “After you are done here i suppose I’ll have to give you the proper tour.” He turned and grabbed the nearest crew member and told them to find the one lacking listening skills apparently. “Continue as you were.” He called behind him as he left, growing irritated. He had someone else do the tour because he hadn’t the time to do it himself, but he had to do it anyway if his crew were going to act in such a way. But he would make an example of the wayward one to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Antonio smirked slightly at knowing that he had caused an inconvenience. It’s not like it was intentional but it was good that he had caused a slight one on accident. He nodded and went back to his cleaning. Whenever he got close to the side of the ship he did both the sides of the bulwarks as well as the top of them. He could tell this was not something most people thought of as it took him a bit longer to scrub them. He dumped the water overboard whenever it got too dirty and refilled it again before starting where he left off.

Arthur dealt with what he needed to on the ship before dealing with his disobedient crew member. He decided to wait until after lunch to see if Antonio finished the deck, not wanting to have to leave for another time. It would just make him get more impatient and irritable. He walked onto the upper deck and scanned the area for the brunette and sauntered over to him when he found him. “Finished? I figured after the tour you can get whatever is left from lunch before you move onto the rest of your duties for the day.” He decided if the Spaniard was good for the tour that's when he would  have someone put out a blanket and pillow in the brig for the other. He decided to be a bit nice since they were about to hit freezing water and give him a heavier blanket then he would normally.

Antonio dumped the last of the dirty water overboard and set the sponge in the bucket. He looked up at Arthur and nodded. “Mhmm. I cleaned all the bulwarks. I could tell that at least the outer bit hadn’t been cleaned in a while” He muttered slightly. “But I cleaned both sides of it and the top. Also there are still people walking around on the deck so even where I had already cleaned might have gotten a bit dirty again” He shrugged. He stood up and lifted the bucket. He figured he could drop it off whenever they got near where it went while they were walking on the tour. He was glad to hear that he would even be getting a second meal. Despite the fact that Arthur had already told him it wasn’t a reward, it also meant he wasn’t getting punished and that honestly felt like a reward in itself. Because of his attitude he was punished whether he did good or not before, another reason he didn’t really bother to do any good.

Arthur’s brows rose slightly “Even when I  have specifically ordered for it to get done it never got done right so I leave it for when we dock and clean the outer ship of barnacles.” He shrugged “Good job. Let’s go. We’re going to go over everything again just to make sure everything is clear. If you need to ask questions we can stop so i can answer it properly. We will start from the bottom and go up from there. Any questions before hand?” He started to lead the way back to the kitchen area so he could start as soon as possible and get back to his own duties.

Antonio nodded. He followed after him closely and silently. “Will I be doing that too, then? When we doc next I mean” He tilted his heads. Did he have any questions? Not really other than the one he had just asked. He didn’t even really expect much of an answer and it didn’t really matter since he assumed that it would be a yes and he didn’t really get a retort. “Actually, I just thought of one that’s not very relevant to the tour. If I am going to be good, I suppose I will have to stop addressing you as puta, which means I need to know your preference in title”

Arthur twitched slightly as he walked at the reminder to the ‘name’. He nodded once “Yes. You'll actually have one of the crew helping you while we are on our next raid.” He paused before continuing, stopping at the door to the kitchen. “you can refer to me as sir or captain.” He then gestured to the kitchen for the Spaniard to go in and eat what was left for him before they went off again for a proper tour.

Antonio nodded. He went into the kitchen and ate the scraps again quickly. He washed the plate and set it to the side before turning and standing in front of Arthur again, waiting for Arthur to lead him on this tour. He was a bit glad Arthur had decided to do it himself. This way it would be done efficiently and Antonio could watch for certain signs in Arthur’s expression as they walked. He was sure that certain areas needed more attention and certain chores would get him better responses from the captain, so the more he studied and learned from him the better. Also the more he’d be able to push his luck when it came to his stubbornness and pride.

Arthur turned to lead the way to the lowest deck, which housed the brig and almost all of the storage spaces. He pointed out the entirety of the brig and then showed the Spaniard the different types of storage rooms and where to put everything. He saved the storage for cleaning supplies like buckets and such for last and gestured for the brunette to put what he had away before leading him up to the next level where there were a few more storage closets but mostly the rooms for the crewmates and a few bathrooms. Once he gave the general layout for those rooms he went back onto the top deck to show him his office, quarters, the kitchens, although he doubted that was even necessary at that point, and the rest of the rooms before he turned back to the brunette “Alright I believe that was everything. Any questions?”

Antonio paid close attention to every detail of the ship. Arthur was significantly better than the crew member at giving a tour. He paused when Arthur asked about questions. Did he? “First of all, though not exactly a question, I must say you are a significantly better tour guide than your crew. Second, what do you want me to do next, sir?” He really didn’t like that. Puta was a much better name for him. But he had to prove that he could earn the rewards, no matter how much he wanted to make smart ass comments. He had to at least do good for one day. Progress was never a straight line.

Arthur was honestly surprised with how well the Spaniard was behaving and had been expecting some sort of pushback by now. He pursed his lips as he thought of the available chores before deciding the slave could choose “Either you can help out in the kitchen for now, deal with the crab traps and such, or sort through the storage rooms on the bottom level.”

Well he was on the top deck already so he supposed the first two made more sense. “I’ll be honest I’ve never worked with crab traps. So the kitchen is probably the most logical answer” he whispered. “I’m sure the crabs can’t be that hard to deal with, though” he shrugged. Now it was again on Arthur to decide if it was worth it to show him what to do or if he should go with his plan to work in the kitchen.

Arthur took a moment to think before nodding “Alright, I will have someone show you how to clean, bait, and empty the traps when the cook is done needing assistance.”He stated curtly before turning to leave.He would spend a bit of time on paperwork, which was mostly paying his crew and figuring out whatever they looted at the time would sell and where.

Antonio nodded and went into the kitchen to find and speak to the cook about whatever bullshit he needed to take care of. Oh and yes, he used those words. He once again had decided that Arthur was the only person he was told to respect and despite being thankful for the food, Antonio’s stubborn attitude just wouldn’t let him pretend to be nice to anyone but Arthur.

The cook shook his head and pointed at the door “I don’t need any assholes help. Go back to the captain with that attitude slave.” He sneered lightly as he turned back to his work. There was no way in hell he was taking any attitude in his own kitchen.

Arthur didn’t have much to do besides the usual payroll since his biggest stop had been at the slave auction and he spent quite a bit from the lot they looted that month. It wasn’t bad, it meant less work for him and more planning for their current raid.

Antonio’s eyes widened and he huffed. “I may be a slave but I am no slave to you, bastard. Unless you plan to upset your captain I suggest you tell me what chores I am meant to do and shut up so I can do them. I’ll have you know I am quite excellent at persuasion.” He stated. “Wouldn’t the puta be quite upset that his shaped up little slave came into work and the chef told him he wasn’t wanted in the kitchen?” He mocked an innocent face. “How rude. Maybe I’ll even cry a little”

At first the cooks amusement grew with his irritation at the assumptions the slave was making, until his amusement was wiped from hearing the little bastard insult his captain. He flipped around and reached out to grab the slave by his skinny throat and brought him close “How dare you insult our captain, and it’s honestly laughable how you think the captain would believe and side with a lowly slave he’s had for less than two days compared to a  _ loyal _ member of his crew who’s been working for him for over a decade.” He shoved the brunette away from him, letting go of his throat in the process. “Now get out of my kitchen.” He growled out before turning back to his food, butchering up some fish a lot more aggressive than was necessary. He knew he was going to get in trouble for touching the Spaniard if he did go running to the captain, but he knew once the captain heard him out, Antonio would be the one getting punished and he felt it was completely worth his own punishment.

Antonio was honestly more than a little shocked when he was grabbed at by the throat. He couldn’t even really focus on what was said and for a moment he couldn’t breathe when he was thrown to the ground. He coughed out violently for a moment, feeling his stomach tense. He felt like he might puke and he doubted that would be good for anything right now. He scurried to his feet and out of the kitchen, breathing heavily once on deck. He was honestly not sure what to do. He couldn’t have the cook telling Arthur of his attitude but he also couldn’t just wait out here as if he had no responsibility. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to ease the feeling in his stomach. He doubted that he’d get away with standing for long so he walked towards Arthur’s office, slow. He held one arm tightly and took in a few heavy breaths. He was going to be punished and he was almost certain of it. He wouldn’t be worried if Arthur hadn’t been so  _ different.  _ Antonio slowly reached his hand up and built up the courage to knock on the door. He knew what he would say and he knew that he was going to try and get the least amount of punishment as possible.

Arthur looked up at the knock and frowned slightly, wondering if there was a complication before calling for the person to enter. He pursed his lips as his brows furrowed slightly when he saw it was the Spaniard “I can’t imagine the cook could be done with assistance so early.” He set his pen down and stood up “No matter, I will find someone to teach you about the crab cages.” He moved towards the door and raised an expectant brow, waiting for the brunette to move out of the way so he could find someone more competent than the last crew member to teach the slave.


	4. Chapter 4

At first Antonio considered leaving it alone when Arthur mentioned being done early. That would avoid punishment entirely. If the chef didn’t tell on him. That’s where he biggest worries came in. He’d pissed off people before and they told on him. A lot of his marks were gained that way. “I...Um...No, sir, the cook is still in need of assistance” He paused. “I...I...um...well I made a mistake” he whispered. He reached up and grabbed at his own neck slightly. “I...I-I’m sorry” he whimpered. This was pathetic and he hated it but it was honestly the best way to avoid serious punishment. If he was honest about his own feelings and what happened it might just get him punished worse. But if he was honest and looked scared and submissive it may look like he knew he messed up and regretted it already so a less severe punishment was to come. The feeling in his stomach didn’t go away, though, which was no help to the situation and honestly he almost regretted not letting himself puke, at least overboard.

Arthur’s face fell flat when he was told the Spaniard had left the cook still needing assistance. His eyes narrowed slightly “And this mistake got you thrown out of the kitchen? What exactly is this mistake of yours.” He knew his cook had a bit of a temper but he also knew most of  the cooks actions weren’t unwarranted. And he wouldn’t give up help so easily over a bit of a dislike for someone so he knew it wasn’t that off the bat. He would have to talk to the cook before deciding anything as well.

Antonio shrunk in on himself and contemplated telling the whole truth or only the parts that would benefit him. He knew that Arthur would likely check the story with the cook and decided that he’d have to be honest or his punishment may be worse. So he took in a very deep and shaky breath before opening his mouth. He told him the truth, how he had let his attitude slip and he used bad words and how the chef had warned him and he didn’t listen and kept going and how it resulted in the chef grabbing and throwing him and he even mentioned the serious urge to vomit though also mentioned that it wasn’t entirely relevant. “I...I’m sorry” he whimpered. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. “I understand that I deserve to be punished.” He didn’t look at Arthur.

Arthur’s jaw clenched as the Spaniard reiterated the story for him. Honestly by the end of it he wasn’t sure if he was more pissed the brunette thought he could get away with acting like that when not around him, or if he was more pissed that the cook disobeyed his very explicit rule of not touching the slave. He took a deep breath and gestured for  Antonio to move “I need to go speak to my cook.” He bit out “Don’t get comfortable.”

Antonio gulped and nodded. He moved to the side out of Arthur’s way and watched him go before looking down and holding his arm again, tighter this time. God this was terrible. He wished he could just avoid all of this. He wished he had the courage to jump into the shark infested waters. He really did wish he had puked before coming in. The feeling was overwhelming now, anxiety riding up as he waited for Arthur to return and deliver the punishment he knew must be coming. This wouldn’t be so scary if Arthur was like the others. But with his incredible difference the punishments could be any range of worse or not nearly as bad. He just hoped his honesty saved him at least a little.

Arthur went to get the cook’s side of the story, and it matched up fairly well to the slaves. He dealt with the cook’s punishment before returning to his office “Five days in the brig. Honestly it’s lucky you didn’t decide to act out even more out of my presence and the apology helped.” He snorted as he pointed towards the stairs leading to the brig, deciding to give the brunette the choice to walk on his own first. He had no problem forcing him down himself. He was actually being a bit lenient mostly because if the Spaniard did more to earn a physical punishment he wanted to wait until the old marks were healed and had no chance of infection since he didn’t actually want the brunette to die.

Antonio looked up when Arthur returned and his shoulders raised as he took in another shaky breath. He nodded and turned to walk towards the brig without a word. He knew he deserved worse and he was shocked, thankful and happy, but shocked that the brig was all Arthur said. He waited for Arthur to open the cell again and stepped inside, sliding down in the corner again and pulling his legs to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. He still didn’t look at Arthur. This was starting to feel like less of an act as he realised how scared he really was to be punished worse. He just had to get the fear of punishment out of the way before he tried any retorts or attitude again.

“If this happens again, there will be no cushion of a simple few days in the brig punishment.” Arthur warned before locking the cell and leaving. Turns out it was a good thing he waited on that blanket and pillow. He snorted lightly, it seemed like the rewards aspect didn’t mean anything to the Spaniard. He was sure even with the threat it wouldn’t deter the brunette from acting out again, but when he actually went through with it it might make him think twice about trying to go against him. He had to move back to his office just to be able to sit for a while to calm down.

Antonio finally glanced at the pirate and nodded. He knew it was coming, the threat of something worse. He knew deep down he’d probably end up with that punishment and it probably wouldn’t even take that long. But for now he had five days. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned his head back on the wall. Five days and despite the fact that he had been down here before he had anger to keep him from feeling completely and intensely cold. But now all he had was a tired and sad fear. So he was ridiculously cold and hyper aware of it.

Arthur didn’t bother going down there during the five days and took his time on the fifth day when it was at the end of the Spaniards punishment. He leaned against the door frame “When you go up to the kitchens for breakfast, you will apologize to the cook for your actions, the cook will also apologize to you for the physical actions against you. Then I have someone picked out waiting to teach you all about the crab traps. Understood?”

Antonio lost track of the time and couldn’t have answered if he was down there a day or a week. He didn’t end up puking, which he supposed was a good thing. But really all he could think of was the cold. He looked up when Arthur returned again and stood, pressing his back into the wall still and listening. He nodded slightly and shifted a bit. “Yes, sir” he whispered. He felt pathetic. He had been known for his attitude yet here he was, acting like a dog and following Arthur around. He was starting to wonder just how worth all this work and bullshit his pride and stubborn attitude could possibly be. He wanted to prove Arthur wrong. But at the cost of caving in like this?

Arthur’s brows nearly rose in surprise, he thought the Spaniard was tougher than that. He was honestly wondering if the portuguese one would’ve been a better choice. He nodded and turned, gesturing for the brunette to go ahead of him. He might not even need to go through with a physical punishment at any point at this rate. He was all talk it seemed, and Arthur had let that be the selling point. He followed after the Spaniard up to the kitchens to make sure the apology was carried out smoothly.

Antonio gave it a moment more of thought before everything hit him. He understood why Arthur had said that the way he did. He’d had suspicions but wallowing in his own thoughts and prideful doubt made him see that it was indeed Arthur’s intention to try and reverse his stubborn pride to deserve a reward that he didn’t truly care about. Not to mention he acted as if he feared Arthur’s punishments but what could Arthur possibly do that hadn’t already been done to him? He was sure Arthur had less resources being on a boat. He decided he’d go back to his original plan of waiting it out until he had to eat, acting good, then going back to being stubborn. He tensed his fists and paused for a moment, glaring at the chef. To prove to himself and Arthur he wasn’t weak and this was ridiculous he sucked in and spat at the cooks feet. “Lick that apology up” He snapped. “Sorry,  _ captain,  _ but five days is enough to think about your bullshit reverse psychology and I don’t plan to give in that easily.” He hissed.

Arthur couldn’t decide between annoyance or excitement at the Spaniards actions. Annoyance because his cook would be in a more pissy mood because of the slave and that meant weird food for awhile, and excitement because he would actually get to show the brunette whhy his punishments weren’t so nice and start breaking him in. He reached out and grabbed the Spaniard by the arm and yanked him back towards the door before turning to push him in the direction of the brig. He didn’t say anything, hoping the slave would only assume, and loudly, that it was just in the brig for another few days because then the surprise on his face when the real punishment was shown. He signaled one of  his men to grab his things for him as he shoved the brunette in front of him.

Antonio’s eyes widened briefly and he stumbled after Arthur pulled at him and stumbled even more when he was shoved towards the stairs. “What are your threats empty now too?” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh no, I’ll have to spend more time in the brig because the captain is a coward that bought a rebellious slave thinking “oh yes, the brig and lack of food will surely break him” He rolled his eyes and turned to walk down the stairs, leaning on the bars. “Oh wait, don’t tell me  You’re going to hit me with a whip or something scary like that?  _ if  _ you even plan to punish me. It won’t do anything. You can’t do anything to me I haven’t already suffered from.” He hissed.

Arthur nearly smirked, he highly doubted the Spaniard dealt with a pirates punishments. His grip only tightened as he made his way down the stairs and shoved the brunette into the cell before waiting for the items to be brought down. His sword of course was a given. The chains to keep the Spaniard in one place were also a given. There was also the little fire pit type of contraption he could use to heat up his sword if he wanted to, and his little cat o nine tails he fashioned himself one time. Though it wasn't the normal kind. He watched patiently as everything was set down in front of him and he had two of his men fasten the chains to the brunette and then the ceiling where there were hooks set up in the middle to hold the chains.

Antonio growled as he was shoved into the wall again. The chains weren’t shocking. He’d been in chains before. Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t struggle against them. It was when he looked up at Arthur and saw the items he was being given that he started to get a bit confused. What torture could one give with a normal sword? He understood knives but a sword was just overkill. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t tell that the whip was different than a normal nine tails. So he felt no fear. He’d been hit with those plenty of times before. He didn’t know what the flame pit was for but it didn’t scare him either.

Arthur waited until Antonio was chained properly before setting up the flame pit to set the sword on. As the flames started to do there job he picked up the cat o nine tails and inspected it for a moment, making sure it was still clean, realizing he should have checked beforehand. He smirked lightly when it was good to go and tested it, twirling it lightly in his hand before looking up at the Spaniard. He stepped into the cell and circled around the other before stopping behind him “I fashioned this myself, specially made. Different from the normal ones. Do you know why?” He practically purred out the question.

Antonio watched Arthur and scoffed when he started to circle him. “Why? because you made it and it’s special to you?” He said it as if he was talking to a little child. “You act like I’m scared to be whipped? I thought you could see but you must be blind to not have noticed the scars, um, I don’t know, everywhere?” He rolled his eyes. “I already told you that you can’t do anything that hasn’t already been done to me”

Arthur’s smirk turned into a grin at the answer and he decided to give the correct answer through action. He lifted the little whip before quickly cracking it forward onto the other's back, seeing the results after a second. His grin widened “Feel the difference now?”

Antonio’s face tightened and he gasped. He could feel the difference, for sure, there was something sharp in the whip some how. He could feel that he was bleeding already from it. Just because he did, didn’t mean he was going to admit it. “Nope” he whispered. “Feels the same as before” He could take this. This was perfectly fine, at least he could tell himself that.


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur's grin only sharpened at that, well to show him he had to do a few more logically. With each stroke he increased the force behind the hit, trying not to hit in the same place each time, though overlapping in some places couldn't be avoided. He paused after a few and tilted his head “And now?”

Antonio tried to keep relaxed, knowing that if he tensed up everything would get worse. What sucked about this was that he could just feel the previous scars being opened up too and that wasn’t helping the pain. Now he really had to think about what he said. He was sure that if he continued to be stubborn the whipping would just continue. It hurt but despite the whip being different there was still a familiar pain. He didn’t know what Arthur planned to do next and he didn’t like that. “Disappointing isn’t it, puta?” He hissed. “You think you’re special but I still don’t feel it” Now he knew what was coming and he could prepare for it. It would be easier this way.

Arthur’s grin faded slightly at the name again, he shook his head and figured the sword would be hot enough to do the job now. He backed up and set the cat o nine tails down as he moved to pick up the sword. It was starting to turn red from the heat, exactly what he wanted. He tilted it this way and that as he tested the weight as he walked back into the cell. He stood in front of the Spaniard this time and didn’t bother with any ‘small talk’ before he got to work. He had an idea from the start and knew this would get under the other's skin. He pressed the blade on the others chest for a moment before pressing the tip into skin, running the blade down slowly. He cut his own initials before stepping back to admire his handy work.

Antonio watched with wide eyes as he discovered his assumption was wrong. Arthur was moving on anyway. The blade turning red from the heat was a bit scary, if he was being honest. When Arthur started to press it to his skin his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth opened wide. It was hot, immensely hot, and aside from the burning he was carving into his skin and that hurt too. He opened his eyes when Arthur stepped away and looked down at his chest. “Did you just fucking brand me?!” He hissed. “Did you just use your fucking sword to carve you god damn initials into my fucking chest?! You sick mother fucker! Is this how you expect to get people to work for you? ‘Oh I know, if I brand him he’ll think he’s mine for sure and do my work because I’m a lazy ass’” he hissed. “Fuck you, puta!”

Arthur just smirked, he didn’t bother responding before stepping forward and sticking his sword into the brunettes thigh for a few seconds. The ‘branding’ was more for anyone who came across the Spaniard, they would know he belonged to the Brit. He took the sword out and lifted it up to inspect it, before raising it enough to run down the other's cheek, not hard enough to be a cut, but still a scratch and the heat was really the biggest thing from this one. He stepped back to put the sword back on the fire pit, not wanting it to lose the heat.

Antonio winced and glared weakly at Arthur. He clenched his hands into fists and looked at Arthur. “Aw is that all?” he asked, mocking as if he was disappointed. In reality he’d love to stop but he wasn’t going to surrender that easily. He had to keep being stubborn now that he had acted out this much.

Arthur shook his head as he picked up the whip once again. Now he had no qualms about hitting the Spaniard in the same spot now that he got the ‘main attraction’ out of the way. He stepped behind the brunette to pick up where he had left off. He would do this until the sword heated up more than it was originally and he'd finish off the punishment for the day with it. He made sure the word ‘shredded’ rang true for the Spaniards back. He figured staying silent would get his message across more than talking would throughout the punishment.

Antonio had to start caving at one point or he might just pass out. He couldn’t hold in that much pain. He gasped and let out a halted scream, clenching his hands into fists. He whimpered slightly. It was more because when they all started to cross over and it had practically opened all his back scars before. He knew that he had been ridiculously rude and disrespectful but who wouldn’t be? He was ripped away from his family and forced to be a slave. Of course he had an attitude. He had to admit though, not out loud of course, this was definitely worse than what he dealt with before.

Arthur paused when he heard the Spaniard scream. man that always felt good, to drag out that first scream. He set down the whip after the scream and debated on whether to finish off the punishment or not. He decided to finish it, otherwise that might give the Spaniard the wrong ideas if he suddenly stopped after a scream. He picked up the once again hot blade and stepped behind the Spaniard, to finish up the back which also served as a way to stop any more than usual bleeding by essentially cauterizing it with the blade. Once he deemed it sufficient he moved to leave the cell, allowing his men to take everything away. He didn’t say anything to Antonio as he left, he figured he’d see what his attitude was like after this plus the night hanging up as he was.

Antonio arched his back from the blade and whimpered. He looked up at Arthur and watched him go, eyes thin. This was a lot worse than he thought it was going to be and he wasn’t honestly sure it was worth it. But he also wasn’t ready to just accept that he was someone’s property. He supposed he’d just have to figure it out later, since Arthur didn’t seem to have any plans talking to him for the rest of the night. He let his head hang after Arthur was gone and he just tried to think for now.

Arthur spent the rest of the evening finishing up his lot of paperwork then went straight to sleep. The next morning he decided to visit Antonio first before going about his morning routine. He had decided the night before if the Spaniard actually decided to apologize of his own volition to him and the cook, then he would allow him down from the chains and get the ship's doctor to clean up and bandage the brunette. He made his way down to the brig, flat expression on his face. he leaned up against the doorway as was becoming the usual of him, before speaking “Sleep well?” he called out, the barest him of amusement in his voice.

Antonio winced and lifted his head up. He wanted to keep going, make a smart ass comment and glare and growl. He knew he could if he really did want to. But he didn’t want to be punished again. He didn’t want the wounds on his back to become worse. He winced again and looked away from Arthur, deciding it was a better idea to just not respond. He wouldn’t make a bad comment that way. He didn’t want to apologise. But he wondered if maybe it would at least get him down so he could try to lay on the floor and try to hide himself from the pain and the world.

Arthur raised a brow, there wasn’t going to be any kind of response? That was disappointing. He straightened himself up off the wall with a shrug. He wasn’t going to ask or demand the apology or better attitude, that would defeat the whole point. He didn’t really want to risk another punishment in such a short time span with how bad he did make the brunettes back. He paused for a moment before turning to leave. Maybe he’d get a more desirable response later.

Antonio looked at him and he bit his lip for a moment. He was going to let Arthur go but he couldn't. He would have to suck it up. He didn’t know for sure what to say to get him to stop. He tensed his fists again. “W-Wait!” He called out. “W-Wait please! Please” He whimpered. “N-No i didn’t sleep well I didn’t. I-It hurts. Please” he whimpered. “I’m...I-I’m sorry. Please. I-I’m s-so sorry”

Arthur nearly grinned when he heard exactly what he wanted. Instead he raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise and  interest as he slowly turned back around. “I will accept your apology.” He paused “Are you planning on apologizing to the cook for your two interactions with him?” Despite being uncaring and merciless when it came to pretty much everything and everyone else, he did earn his crew's loyalty for a reason. He signaled for the lingering crew member near the stairs of the brig to grab the doctor, but quietly, because he didn’t want the Spaniard to assume anything until after he’d gotten confirmation of the apology for his cook.

Antonio winced again slightly and whimpered. He didn’t want to apologise to the cook. But he wanted down. He supposed he would have to suck that up too. He nodded. “I...I will” he whispered. “I’ll apologise, really this time.” he whimpered. As long as it got him down. He didn’t expect any kind of medical care. He hadn’t been touched by a doctor since before he was taken.

Arthur paused for a moment, gauging the others face to see if he was actually saying it sincerely before deciding he most likely was. He nodded curtly before signaling for the doctor to be brought in when he got down there as he stepped  into the cell to personally unhook the spaniard from the chains. He kept the up just in case it was needed again, but mostly as a reminder to the brunette on what to expect if he kept acting as he did. He also had a few other things he could dole out as a punishment if it came down to another punishment again sooner than later. Once the doctor stepped in Arthur moved out of the cell and cleared his throat to gain Antonio’s attention “This is the ship's doctor. He will bandage your back and chest and make sure nothing is infected. You will have today to rest your wounds before working again.” He stated before turning to leave once again.

Antonio practically collapsed to the floor of the bring when he was free from the chains. He whimpered and trembled slightly. He looked up at Arthur and winced. He nodded slightly and pushed himself onto his knees. It hurt and he couldn’t find a position in which it didn’t. He was honestly shocked to find out that he was being treated by a doctor or that he had a day to rest. He hated doctors but he needed one now more than ever and he would have to deal with it. He looked up at the doctor and did whatever he said to make it easier on them both. When the doctor was gone he worked to find a position he could lay in that didn’t hurt. Turns out, that was pretty impossible.

Arthur spent the day fixing their course of sail and observing and delegating the jobs. He didn’t visit the Spaniard until the next day when he came by to let him out of the cell to make his way to breakfast. “Rise and shine. You can apologise to the cook while you get your breakfast then I will give you your chores for the day. Understood?” He stepped up to the cell to be able to actually look at the Spaniard while he was talking, his hands automatically clasping behind his back.

Antonio didn’t really find a good way to sleep so when Arthur came down he hadn’t really rested much. He nodded and pushed himself up. He was used to working while in pain but not really to this extent so he hoped it wouldn’t be as hard to learn as it was before. He winced as he balanced out on his feet and looked up at Arthur. “I understand, sir” he whispered.

Arthur let the other out of the cell before turning to lead him up to the kitchens where he stepped aside to let Antonio deal with the cook. The cook still had yet to apologise for his own blunder, but that was due when the Spaniard actually apologised correctly. Arthur had also made it clear to whoever worked with Antonio today to not push him too fast, as they should all understand they have been at that point at one time or another with him and knew how difficult it is to work.

Antonio followed Arthur closely and winced again. He was a bit unprepared when Arthur stepped aside in the kitchen. He looked up at the chef in silence, looked down and took in a few heavy breaths before looking up at him again. “I behaved inappropriately both of the previous times I have been in contact with you and it was unnecessary and rude” he whispered “I-I’m very sorry” he continued. He hated apologising. He didn’t feel sorry. In fact he sort of blamed the chef for his pain. But he wouldn’t say that or show that in anyway. He could suck it up and apologise.


	6. Chapter 6

The cook pursed his lips and looked up at the captain before grudgingly nodding in acceptance of the apology “And I apologize for losing my temper and physically harming you.” He muttered before turning back to continue his duties in the kitchen. There was the usual plate of scraps for the Spaniard sitting on the counter. Arthur leaned against the door satisfied the situation had been dealt with and content to wait patiently for a few minutes for the brunette to eat before giving him his duties.

Antonio took the plate of scraps slowly. He tried to eat them again at a relatively fast pace but it was much harder since every movement left him in pain. He finished with the scraps and washed the plate carefully, trembling slightly. He turned back to Arthur to await the list of duties he had to fulfil.

Arthur stood straight and stepped onto the deck, expecting to be followed automatically. He stopped at the side of  the ship, where a bunch of crab traps were laid out, some empty, some with a few crabs. He grabbed the attention of the current crew member working with the traps and turned to the Spaniard. “He will teach you all about the crab traps. This is the third and hopefully the final time I have to try and get this setup.” He grumbled before giving him his other duties for the day. Sort the storage rooms and if it was before dinner time that he finished he was to go and actually assist the cook this time around.

Antonio nodded. He turned to look at the other crew member, silent. He knew this was the third time and was honestly a bit embarrassed that he said it the way he did. He winced again and looked at the traps. He figured this couldn’t possibly be all that hard and hopefully didn’t involve too much work and movement.

The crew member gestured to the traps around him “It’s honestly simple enough a job to do, I promise. You don’t have to clean them often, only if you notice a lot seaweed and grime getting to it during the day. everything gets cleaned before it gets tossed in for the night. everyone during the day gets checked every hour, so it’s a highly unpleasant job to be tasked with as every hour you have to pull everything up, check all the cages, remove the crabs in a special way i’ll show ya in a minute, then rebait everything before throwing it all back in the sea.” He grabbed one of the cages with a crab in it and set it before the Spaniard “Any questions before I show ya how to remove the crabs?”

Antonio listened to him and tilted his head a bit. It honestly didn’t seem that bad. Then again though he had previously been tasked with chopping wood and a bunch of other tedious tasks so something like that wouldn’t seem so bad to him. “I don’t think so” he whispered. “Do they snap?” he asked, looking at the crab in the cage. He had heard that those things could cut off fingers if they really wanted to.

The crew member grinned and nodded “Hence the special way we gotta get em out, one so they don’t get ya, them pinchers hurt like a bitch, and two so you don’t ruin them and their meat.” He showed him how to open the cage and grab the crab from behind “Neat little trick here so you can always be sure to get em from behind and twist a bit like this so your hand and the crab don’t get stuck because of that big ass claw. Then you can just place em in the bucket here.” He showed the Spaniard twice more before picking up the bait “Then you just gotta tie in the bait like this and then toss everything overboard. It’s best if you toss everything at the same time so you don’t have to try to remember times.” He clapped his hands “Alright I think that’s everything, questions before I leave ya to it?”

“Do I rebait the ones that didn’t catch something? Or do I leave the old bait?” He asked, tilting his head to look at the traps. He was right. Honestly the hardest part seemed to be avoiding getting the crab caught or getting snapped at. He figured he could do that. He picked up the cage and opened it the way he’d been shown, reaching in and carefully grabbing it from behind and twisting so it came out. He tossed it into the bucket and then tie in the bait like he was shown.

The crew member snorted “If the baits still there yeah you can leave it, but more often than not, it’ll be gone.” The member nodded in satisfaction when he saw him do it the right way “Aright, you seem to have it down. I’ll leave ya to it. I’ll be around if you have any trouble with it.” He stood and stretched before moving off to start his other duties.

Antonio pouted at the snort. He nodded. He worked on the traps, adding bait to empty ones that didn’t have it, removing the crabs carefully and tossing them into the bucket, and carefully separating them so he didn’t waste time by trying to check one more than once. This was fortunately not very much movement and therefore wasn't too hard on his back. He ran his fingers through his hair when he had done them all and carefully bent down to try and pick them all up at once. He did one last check of them before tossing them over. He felt the pain from that but ignored it slightly other than a slight wince. He looked over the water to make sure everything went through before stepping back to nod. He went to work on sorting through the storage rooms next.

Arthur had done all his paperwork for the month the day before so he had stayed around the deck, particularly, but subtly, around the side of the deck near the crab traps. He stepped in once he saw it was just about done. “I see you did this fairly fast. If you can keep tabs on the hour, while you fix the storage rooms, i want you up here on the hour checking them. Understood?”

Antonio turned when he heard Arthur’s voice and nodded. “Yes, sir” He responded. He once again had to hold back a comment on how he couldn’t keep track of time that easily but he didn’t need to deal with anything right now. If he was still going to be a bit rebellious it had to be long after he started to heal properly. He shifted a bit and started to work on the storage rooms.

Arthur was actually surprised there was no pushback to that demand. He couldn’t even expect his men to do that properly, but if the Spaniard could then that was even better. He had been expecting a bit of a complaint  and was expecting to end up assigning someone to essentially ‘tag’ the brunette. He nodded in acceptance, satisfied with the no attitude either way. He walked off to continue his duties, though would wander back whenever the hour struck.

Antonio decided to try and be as precise with that hour as possible. He didn’t find it very practical but it worked for now. He counted in his head as he worked. It was actually quite relaxing if he was being honest. He was able to keep distracted from the pain of his movements and such as well as keep tabs on when he needed to be up to check the traps. After the second or third room he had gotten to 60 enough times that it should have been about an hour. He went up to the deck, wincing as he walked and paused by where the traps were before. He wasn’t sure how accurate his counting was so he waited a few seconds, looking around and then nodding. He figured it had to at least have been close enough. He started to pull the traps back up.

Arthur started to make his rounds again on the hour and was slightly impressed it looked like the Spaniard hadn’t been there for too long, somehow able to really keep track of the time without the sun. He nodded to himself, figuring if this was how the brunette worked all day the pillow and blanket might actually be distributed today. He didn’t bother saying anything until lunch came around, he threw in a casual compliment on the work as he mentioned he could go get his lunch as he passed by.

Antonio turned to looked at Arthur as he was complimented and told he could get lunch. He smiled slightly and nodded. He finished up what he was working on, tossing the traps overboard, then heading towards the kitchen. He paused outside and shifted a bit before walking in and running his fingers through his hair. He figured that he could just avoid the cook for now by grabbing the plate, eating the scraps as quickly as the pain would allow him, then washing the plate and leaving. He went back to working on the storage rooms and worked towards finishing those. He once again kept count in his mind as he worked so he would be up again at the hour.

Arthur had only wanted to see if the other could really keep track of time as he seemed to be able to and watched the second time before having to decide whether to be nice and have others grab the Spaniard every hour, or continue on since he seemed to be doing fine. He looked up at the sun before looking back down at his ship. He could take on keeping track of the sun since he was up here only making rounds and keepings tabs on the course. At the next hour mark he grabbed a passing crew member to go down to inform the brunette. Arthur hasn’t checked in on the job he was doing yet and wasn’t planning on doing so for another hour. He knew it would most likely take all day, which is why he only tacked on helping the cook if he had any time before dinner. No one has actually sorted through those rooms in months.

Antonio was making his way back up to the deck when the crew member came down for him. He blinked slightly. Well this time he was certainly accurate. Had he not been before? Or was Arthur trying to make less work for him? No he doubted that at this point. He thanked the crew member anyway and went up to the traps again. He started to pull them all up again.

Arthur went down to the lowest level on the next hour when the other was already up working on the traps so he wouldn’t have to deal with him at the moment. He mostly wanted to see how far along he was and if he would get to the storage closets on the second level. He pursed his lips lightly as he looked into all the rooms. He was more than a little surprised, he thought this chore would have taken three times longer than it was turning out to be. He wasn’t too sure how to feel about that.

Antonio finished up with the traps again, starting to get a bit quicker with that as well. He moved back downstairs and into the next room. He had finished the bottom deck by the next hour. He honestly hoped it was taking longer than it was. He didn’t really  _ want  _ to work with the chef but he was more than aware that it didn’t really matter at all what he did and didn’t want. After he finished the traps on that hour he started to work with the storage rooms on the second floor.

Arthur had whoever went down to inform the Spaniard of the time keep tabs on his progress with the organizing as well and relay it back to him. When he was told the brunette had moved on to the second level he went down to the bottom to make sure it was all exactly how he had wanted it and was impressed and slightly disappointed when he couldn’t find any fault. there were only a few storage closets on the second floor so he went up to discuss what was expected of him when working with the cook. It was mostly a test to see how his attitude fared in all honesty.

Antonio continued with his work, even when Arthur came to talk to him. He paused and shifted a bit. That explanation meant he was in fact working faster than he had intended. He supposed there wasn’t much he could do. It would be obvious if he slowed down now. He nodded at Arthur’s instruction before getting back to finishing with the storage rooms. He checked on the traps again, finishing the storage room, and then taking in a deep breath. He went into the kitchen and grumbled to himself before clearing his throat. “The...um...the Captain still wishes for me to work with you. He told me what he wanted me to do, but um. Is there specifics that  _ you  _ want me to start with?” He hated this a lot. He didn’t want to work with the cook. He didn’t want to be nice to the cook. But he also was not ready to be punished again.


	7. Chapter 7

The cook furrowed his brows as he turned to face the Spaniard for a moment, slightly confused by the huge attitude change. He shook his head and gestured to the dishes and the crabs that needed to be cleaned. “That’s all I need help with for now. If you don’t know how to clean a crab I can show you how.” He stated, slightly tersely as he wasn’t sure if even telling him what to do would set him off and he didn’t want his own temper to flare up and get punished again.

Antonio nodded and moved over to clean the dishes off. He didn’t know how to wash a crab but he figured it would be easier on both of them if he did what he knew how to do first. So he washed the dishes carefully and stacked the clean ones. He wasn’t sure what to do with them so he figured he would have to figure that out too. “I...um. No I don’t know how to clean crabs. Please show me” he whispered.

The cook turned back to preparing the meal for the night and when the Spaniard admitted to not knowing how to clean a crab he turned and stepped toward the pots of crab and took one out. He lifted it up and turned it so the back was clearly facing the brunette. “To clean the crab, first you have to boil it for a minute, which has been done, then you take it like this and then pry off the back. Don’t splinter it or anything, you have to be able to put it back on well enough to go back to boiling for a few minutes when you finish. Anything that doesn’t look like meat has to go. Don’t bother about the legs, those are fine as they are.” He pointed to all the places to look for, and especially the bottom. He cleaned out the one he was holding and showed what it should look like before putting the back of the shell back on, pushing hard enough to get it to stick back as he plopped it into a new pot ready to go.

Antonio watched him work with the crab and made a face. This was a disgusting job. But he once again knew he had no choice. He grabbed at the crabs and did as the chef had showed him, checking each one carefully and removing anything that didn’t belong then placing its shell back on and dropping it in the pot with the other. He did this with all the crabs before turning to him. “I’ve finished” he whispered. “I don’t know if I should leave the dishes where they are or if they go somewhere” He whispered. He ran his fingers through his hair and shifted. He was glad that most of this involved very little interaction. Though fortunately Antonio seemed to be the two to hold the grudge.

The cook moved back to prepping the meal and turned to look at the dishes before gesturing at the top and bottom cabinets on the other side of the kitchen “All dishes like plates and bowls go in the top, pots and pans and all that go in the bottom ones.” He said lightly. He moved over to turn the water on to boil for a few more minutes.

Antonio nodded and started to put the dishes up, careful not to slip up despite the pain. He took his time with it, despite the fact that he’d rather just get everything over with. Though if he was being honest he didn’t really know what he was supposed to do after he finished with this. “Um. Am I supposed to stay here until the Captain comes to check? Or am I supposed to go find him?” He asked.

The cook paused and tilted his head as he looked over what was already done “Well I don’t necessarily  _ need _ anymore assistance, you’ve done what I told the captain I needed help with. You can go ask Captain Kirkland if there’s anything else you can do. Or you can stay here and finish helping me cook dinner. If you do that, logically you can make your own plate of food.” He called out as he moved back to take the crabs off the heat to start preparing the meat.

Antonio paused. Incentive for food was the most logical thing to him. He ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. Well, that was also the first time had had heard Arthur’s name in any sort of way. At least now he knew what the K stood for. If he was lucky he might just get to figure out what the A stood for. He paused. “Are you allowed to do that?” he asked. He hadn’t been getting anything more than scraps and he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to eat anything more than that. He would love to, but he didn’t want to get in trouble either. “I can help you cook. If you want me to”

The cook shrugged “I control the food here, the kitchen is seen as my domain by even the captain. He might not like it but he won’t contest it if he finds out, nor would he punish you or I. So I don’t think it matters much if you get a plate of your choosing for helping me this time. That pretty much will go for whatever meal you help me  with in the future, even after you get to the point of earning a spot to be treated like any other crew member, they all don’t  care about eating civilized.” He shrugged and pointed over to the sauces being prepared “You can finish that by tossing in those ingredients next to it and stirring it in if you’re staying. Then help me finish these crabs.”

Antonio chuckled slightly. He nodded. “Well, if you’re sure we won’t get in trouble I may as well stay and help you” he shrugged. He looked at the sauce and nodding, grabbing the things next to it and tossing them in and stirring it. He moved over closer to him to help him out with the crabs when the seasons were all stirred in. When they finished he tilted his head a bit. “It’s a shame you put all this work into this and they come in and scarf it down like it’s nothing.”

The cook shrugged “I found it offensive at first but got used to it quick. Only one to appreciate my effort is the captain himself. Which is the only reason I don't just quit and serve whatever they catch boiled or fried since most of em wouldn't notice the difference.” He snorted lightly before piling all the legs together and putting all the loose meat together. “All that's left is to boil the pasta and put that sauce you finished over it.”

Antonio tilted his head. He pulled a pot down from where he saw them before and filled it with water, handing it to the chef to bring to a boil. “Has anyone ever tried to, I dunno probably not, but like. Actually get them to sit down? This looks like it deserves a lot more than just tearing through it”

The cook pursed his lips as he thought for a moment and shook his head “That seems more like something families and rich people do. It’s easier to get what you want when you want then try to get everyone to wait, besides we don’t have a big enough table for everyone at once I don’t think.” He waited for the water to boil before dropping in the pasta. He let it sit for a few minutes before stirring lightly so it didn’t stick to the bottom. once it was cooked the water was drained and the sauce mixed in as if he left it separate no one would bother adding it out of laziness. He stepped back and gestured for Antonio to make his plate before he announced dinner was ready to the crew. He also had to make Arthur’s plate before everyone arrived.

Antonio thanked him as he pulled together a bit of food for himself. He didn’t get very much. For more reason than one but mostly he just didn’t want to deal with explaining himself to Arthur. Another being that he still wasn’t used to eating very much. This was much better than scraps though. Since they had just talked about it, Antonio felt that he had to at least try to eat a bit more civilised than he had been. That and with scraps they were already torn. This felt much more civilised and he felt like he had to try to be slower. That and it hurt less.

The cook put together Arthur’s plate before setting everything up for the rest of the crew and announced to everyone dinner was ready. Arthur came down shortly after the announcement to take his plate to his office. He paused when he saw the Spaniard in the kitchen with the cook, though what had stopped him was noticing the brunette had an actual plate of food. Before the rest of the crew. Obviously the cook had given it to him. He grabbed his plate and pulled the cook to the side with him as he walked out of the kitchen to get an explanation. Said explanation left him slightly irritated but didn’t say anything against it towards the brunette as he left.

Antonio shifted a bit. He noticed Arthur taking the chef out to talk to him and he bit down on his lip. He finished it quickly after that, washing his plate and pausing. “Should I wash the dishes or should I go ask if there is something else I should do?” He asked, tilting his head a bit. “Is he upset? Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed and just eaten scraps. I don’t want him to be upset with me”

The cook walked back into the kitchen and grabbed himself a plate of food before it was all gone. He shook his head “No, besides clean up and putting away whatever everyone else was working on during the day, after dinner is when everyone gets rest or messes around. No chores after dinner and all. He’s not upset with you, nly thing he was irritated about was me not bringing it up before.” He shrugged and started to eat.

Antonio nodded slightly. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “So do I go back to the brig or should I wait for him?” He shifted. “I don’t know how obvious it is but I would really like to avoid punishment as best as possible. Especially right now. It hurts. A lot” he whispered.

The cook nodded “You can if you want, though I doubt he’s going to come out just to tell you when to go to bed.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair “The captain can be cruel at times, but we all kinda went through something like that when we first came aboard, as most of us were originally slaves as well.” He paused “I don’t know if you heard this but no one here is allowed to touch you but the Captain. That upset quite a few of the crew, so you might want to keep watch around them.” He stated lightly before he started cleaning up the kitchen and any plates that made its way back into the kitchen.

Antonio scoffed and chuckled. “I honestly can’t see it as cruel considering what I did.” he paused. “wait really? most of them were a slave before?” he asked. “would they disobey him like that?” he tilted his head again. That kind of worried him if he was being honest. He was sure they could find plenty of ways to get to him without touching him. He shifted a bit, deciding not to push his luck. He decided he would find his way back to the brig after the conversation. Even if he couldn’t get back in the cell, he’d go down there and wait.

The cook nodded shortly “I was a slave before. Been here nearly a decade, been a free member for around eight of those years, but I'm loyal as is the rest of us that stayed. We all get paid now and can use those funds when we dock in places we don't raid.” He chuckled before shaking his head “Oh no, they won't obviously go against his word. The most you’d have to really watch out for is them trying to get the captain to think you did something wrong. He never had the rule slaves couldn't be touched before is why they're upset really.”

Antonio was a bit confused when he heard that this was the first time they’d had this rule. “Wait really? What makes me so special? You’d think with my attitude he’d be more inclined to let the others do whatever they saw fit, not that I want that of course, more that I just don’t really understand why I am suddenly changing the way things are done. Then again it probably has nothing to do with  _ me  _ specifically”

The cook shrugged after a moment “I have no idea, he didn't explain why and no one has questioned it either.” He thought for a moment “I would hope you wouldn't question it anytime in the near future as well.” He washed up the dishes and passed them still wet on the counter towards the Spaniard “Since you're still here, how about drying these for me and putting them up?”

Antonio shrugged. He shook his head quickly. “Oh no I have no plans to question his decisions. Especially ones that involve me getting less hurt than I could in other situations” he chuckled. He nodded and grabbed a towel to dry them with, putting them away as he dried them. When he finished up with those he shifted a bit. “I should probably at least go down there now” he whispered. “Thank you for letting me eat real food and such.” He gave a slight smile. “I really am sorry. I was just scared and such. I just got defensive. You didn’t deserve that.”

The cook nodded “That's more than understandable, most of us have been there. I am sorry I let my temper get the best of me, I don't usually get yelled at in my own area.” He set down the rag once everything was done “Honestly if you don't want to go to sleep you can hang out on deck with me and a few other crew members, one of them, Basil, is the one who showed you the crab traps if that helps make up your mind.”

Antonio smiled slightly. “I would like that actually” he shifted a bit. “Oh that’s his name?” He chuckled. “I like that. Basil. If that’s okay with you guys I’d love to hang out.” He tilted his head slightly. “Does everyone call you chef?” he asked. “Or do you have a name? I mean I’ll call you whatever you want me to” he chuckled. “Or sir or whatever since I am technically beneath all of you whether you’re allowed to touch me or not”

The cooks nose scrunched up at the honorific “Keep the sir stuff for the captain. My name is Bryson, but yeah cook or chef is kinda the nickname I got stuck with. I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t okay.” He paused and turned towards the Spaniard “Actually none of us know your name either. Captain doesn’t even know it.” He gestured for the brunette to follow him as he started to head up to the deck.

“Ah, well no one does actually. That's one of the stories behind some of my scars, all of which have been reopened now. But I wouldn’t tell them my name. I didn’t want my family to get hurt. Even though my brother was there too. My name is Antonio” He chuckled. “You’re the first I have told. Feel special at all?” He shrugged and headed up to the main deck.

The cooks brow raised slightly “they got your brother as well? That’s rough.” He laughed lightly “Special? Sure.” He called out to the couple other crew member hanging around “Oi, the kids hanging up here tonight!” He turned back to Antonio “These guys you don’t have to worry about so long as you don’t walk in like you did with me last week.” He grinned before walking towards the group, waving for Antonio to meet them.


	8. Chapter 8

Antonio chuckled and nodded. “Well I don’t really think I plan to talk to anyone like that for a while. Certainly none of you” He smiled. He followed after Bryson, staying a bit closer to him. Despite the fact that the chef had said he could he still worried that Arthur wouldn’t be happy about it.

Elias, another of Arthur’s crew, watched them and growled. He wasn’t supposed to be treated like them. He was a slave. He hadn’t earned this yet. Especially not with all the attitude he had been throwing around. He smirked, coming up with the perfect way to get at him for this stunt. He knocked on Arthur’s door and waited for permission before going in and making up some story about the Spaniard and his attitude. Fortunately he was very good at making up stories like that.

Bryson’s brows furrowed and he leaned closer to Antonio as he caught on to his words “Word of advice, the longer you try to go against the captain the harder he’ll get. I’m not telling you what to do, but it never was fun with those kinds of punishments.” The rest of the crew members in the group introduced themselves, Basil actually coming up to greet the Spaniard and pat him on the shoulder. They all went back to sitting on the boxes they were using for awhile. They pulled up two more for Bryson and Antonio.

Arthur allowed the person to enter and sat back when he realized it was Elias and listened to him speak. His eyes narrowed as the story went on. He stood up and nodded thanking the other for coming to him before he went up to the deck, where Elias said he saw the Spaniard last.

Antonio listened to Bryson and nodded. “I know. It’s not even intentional all the time. I just get defensive when I’m scared. I’ve never been on a boat before and the captain is so different from all the ‘training’ I had. I honestly thought I’d die there. I never expected to be bought, let alone be bought, brought to a ship, and have to learn a lot of new stuff, ya know?” He sat down where they brought over the box. He smiled at them all and listened to them converse for a while. He didn’t really know much about them or their conversation so he couldn’t really join in much. He heard the footsteps and turned to see who was coming over. When he saw that it was Arthur his eyes widened and he quickly looked away. He didn’t want to get in trouble for being up here.

Arthur made his way onto the deck, making Elias come along with him so the stories were aligned. He stopped a few steps behind the others and didn’t miss the Spaniard looking away from him. He cleared his throat “I heard there has been another outburst tonight via the new slave. Care to explain?” He had only been speaking to the brunette but the cook turned around when he heard the captain start speaking and he frowned before standing up “Captain, He’s been helping me in the kitchen most of the evening and after we finished clean up he was out here with us. In the time he’s been with me I can assure you he hasn’t had any attitude like the last time. You know I wouldn’t be quiet about it.” He had stepped up to Arthur to tell him quietly before stepping back. Arthur narrowed his eyes before looking back at the Spaniard “Is this true?”

Antonio looked up at Arthur and with the accusation felt tears build up in his eyes. He wasn’t ready to be punished again and especially not for something he didn’t actually do. He was a bit shocked when Bryson stood up to stick up for him. But he was thankful for it, taking that time to try and keep himself calm. Antonio nodded slightly. “S-Sí I mean...yes, I w-was with him I-I swear. I-I was m-more worried you w-wouldn’t want me up h-here. I...why...I’ve been s-so careful” he whimpered. “P-Please” he whimpered.

Arthur carefully looked over the others expression and turned back to Bryson before nodding in acceptance and turning his ire, that was quickly turning to anger “Elias, Tell me again what you told me in the office. For everyone to hear.” He snapped quickly.

Elias paused and glared at the group. “I-I...look at them! Captain he’s acting like he’s a part of the crew! He’s a slave! He hasn’t earned this yet! We had to earn this! He’s been here a week and most of those days he spent being punished but he’s up here all buddy buddy suddenly? Not to mention we can’t even touch him?! Are you going soft for this Spanish scum?!” Antonio blinked and looked at Elias, flinching slightly at the last bit. That wasn’t fair to him and he wanted to retort but right now he wasn’t even confident in his ability to form a sentence. let alone yelling one. Also, he didn’t feel like actually showing attitude then ruining his actual innocence.

Bryson quickly grabbed the Spaniards wrist to pull him back a few steps along with the rest of the crew members originally there as they realized the Captain was gonna go off and they knew not to be in the way. Arthur’s eyes widened before narrowing as his anger rose as the other continued. He took a step forward and quickly reached out to grab the other by the hair, dragging him close “I don’t really give a damn how any of  _ my _ crew treats new slaves on  _ my _ ship, have you forgotten you were once a slave and I can make that happen again pretty damned quick since I still own you.” He growled out “I’ll deal with your punishment tomorrow. Get the hell out of my sight.” He shoved the other away from him as he let go of his hair before turning back to the rest of the crew members. “I apologise for interrupting all of your evening, I’ll leave you to it. Basil make sure the slave has his blanket and pillow before you all go to bed, understood?” He waited for confirmation before turning and leaving, still visibly pissed with Elias’s blatant insubordination.

Antonio looked at Bryson and stepped back with him, staying slightly behind him. He was honestly a bit shocked with the scene but he was grateful that he had not been alone otherwise he might have just broken down and been unable to defend himself. Elias stumbled forward and winced at the tugging of his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, growling slightly as he stumbled back. He glared at them for a moment before heading down to his bed. Antonio listened to Arthur and looked at the others again. He breathed out shakily to try and calm himself, nodding slightly. He looked at Bryson and shifted. “Th-Thank you” he whispered, hiccuping slightly. He felt pathetic, breaking down and crying like that.

Bryson pursed his lips as he watched Elias leave before turning back to Antonio and the others “It’s nothing really. Elias is one of the ones I was thinking of when I said to be careful around some of us. He’s a plain asshole though, not many of us like him. He’s really gonna regret trying to pull one over the captain tomorrow though. Sounds like it’ll be public too.” He shrugged before turning and plopping back down on his seat “Alright where were we boys?” At that everyone plopped back down to continue the conversations, relaxing again before deciding to head to bed a while later.

Antonio sat back down and listened to them speak. He tried a bit harder to avoid the conversation at first since he was still a bit shook up. But once he had calmed down he joined in slightly. He stood up when they all decided to go to bed, heading back down to the brig. He wasn’t really aware of what the blanket and pillow bit meant until he saw that they were actually there for him and he smiled slightly. He was glad that he seemed to have already earned some type of reward. He waited a minute before laying flat on his chest and trying to avoid his back getting touched too much. He curled up in the least painful way possible, laying his head on the pillow and going to sleep.

Arthur woke the next morning still in a bad mood, and the cook had been right, he was going to make the punishment public, as he was wont to do when one of his crew members tried to pull one over him at the expensive of another crew member, as well as when they showed insubordination. He got up and went to get the Spaniard up first before going about his morning routine. “Wake up. you’ll get to witness a public punishment. Doesn’t happen often.” He stated dryly.

Antonio woke up to Arthur’s voice and winced slightly but was quick to get up, not wanting to anger the already seemingly upset Captain. He nodded and stood carefully, rubbing at his eyes to try and make himself more alert before looking at Arthur and pausing before starting to head up the stairs.

Arthur lead the way up to the deck and got his breakfast before having someone make sure everyone was gathered on the deck, especially Elias since he was the main part of the lesson. Once everyone was gathered he had Elias stand in the middle of the deck before prompting him to explain to the entire crew the reason for his punishment today. In turn Arthur filled in the holes of what happened before carrying on with the public flogging. He of course would give Elias a more personal punishment later, but it was always flogging publically. As per the rules the crew member had to kneel and keep his hands clasped behind his head as he endured however many the Captain saw fit. Once it was over Arthur dismissed everyone to their breakfast and told the Spaniard to help anyone who needed assistance with their duties today while he disappeared into his office with Elias to deal with him privately.

Antonio watched, staying close to the group from last night since he knew them and they seemed to like him more than anyone else at the moment. He watched the captain go and went into the kitchen to eat his portion of breakfast as well before going to figure out who best needed help. He still tried to stay within the group, particularly Bryson and Basil since he knew those two and their jobs the best so far. He was sure he’d learn more later but he liked to stick with the familiar things while he was still struggling to move.

Basil made his way over to Antonio once breakfast was over with “Heard you have ta help everyone else today. Figured I could try ta snag you first before chef does. Or Ray. How bout it? I got a couple jobs today.” He grinned before scratching his head “And ya know these public punishments are almost all about the public humiliation, if you were curious. It doesn’t happen often cause we don’t like being punished in front of the guys we live with, makes for uncomfortable talks for awhile. Nobody's gonna wanna talk to Ely for a while.”

Antonio smiled when he saw Basil and nodded. “May as well” he chuckled a bit. “What should I help you with?” he asked. He nodded. “Yeah, they were about public humiliation more than anything back at the shop. So it’s not too shocking it’s similar here” he shrugged a bit. He chuckled. “I didn’t want to talk to him in the first place. He was the one who gave me the ‘tour’ where I essentially learned nothing other than the location of the stairs to the brig, which isn’t very hard to do when I spent quite a while in there” He tilted his head slightly and smiled.

Basil nodded “difference here though is we like our boss.” He paused before listing off the jobs he had for the day “No crabs today since chef doesn’t wanna cook them>’ he laughed “Usually I get stuck with the job but I got a break today.” He snorted as he started to lead the Spaniard to his first job “Sounds like something he’d do. Only about four of us actually like him. I don’t really care either way, but he’s obnoxious and is willin to throw any of us under the bus to save his own skin.” He scowled for a minute before smiling up at the Spaniard as he gestured to their job “Alright here’s what we gotta do now. With your help we’ll be finished quick!” He showed the other what they were doing exactly before starting.

Antonio chuckled. “right right. He’s definitely a lot better better than the people there” At the list of chores he nodded and laughed slightly at the cook comment. “If the captain has so much trouble with him and all that, why does he keep him around? I thought pirates were known for that no bullshit attitude. Like they kill if they need to. I guess I really don’t know though. I don’t remember the stories and stuff from my childhood.” He nodded and started to help him with what he was doing.

Basil frowned slightly as he paused to look up at the other and scratched the back of his neck “Well the captain is as loyal to us as we are to him. He got no family before us, so he does his best to return the respect we give him. He doesn’t give a damn about anyone else though, and even though we all know he cares about us he does not go easy on his punishments we’ll tell ya.” He laughed “He gave us all the choice to leave at one point or another while we were slaves, we all chose to stay. I don’t know of anyone who has ever turned down the captain. And Elias might not care for us much, but he is as loyal to the captain as we are.” He shrugged lightly “We learned to live with him though. He was mostly upset because we liked you a lot faster than we warmed up to him when he was first brought aboard.”

Antonio tilted his head as he listened to the explanation and he nodded. “That makes sense.” he chuckled. “I definitely think I’ll be trying to avoid those as much as possible now” he chuckled. “Even just one was a lot. My back still hurts like hell” He paused at the next bit. “Wait he gave you the choice to leave?” he asked. “really? And you all chose to stay?” he tilted his head. “Huh. That’s such a weird thing to picture. I mean, a slave not wanting to leave. Though I suppose it would probably be hard to get back into a normal life after all of this. And it’s not too bad here. I’m sure it gets better when you’re not in a shit load of pain and sleeping down in a cell though” he said in a joking tone before starting to work again. “Well, that’s just because I’m spanish” he smirked. “Everyone loves the Spaniards”

Basil laughed and nodded “It does get lots easier you got that right.” He snorted at the last bit “More like even though you weren’t a pompous dick who tries to bribe us or try to sell us out to get a lighter punishment whenever it comes up. He still is that way to a lesser degree, you were victim to it last night, aye?” He stood up once they finished the job a little bit later “Alright time for the next job, after this one though if you want to tag on with someone else that’ll be alright.” He paused “How you doin with your back, anyways?”

Antonio chuckled and nodded. “Alright alright, I guess it might have to do with that” He smiled. “Yeah, um, that was sucky. I fucking bursted into tears man. It was kinda embarrassing. I felt so weak like. If you guys hadn’t been there I probably wouldn’t have been able to talk to defend myself” he chuckled. “I can help you if you want me to. I don’t mind. I like you. Oh! I realised I only told Bryson but, my name is Antonio” He smiled.

Basil pretended to puff his chest out in pride “Aw I'm flattered! But Bryson’ll be annoyed if I keep your help all to myself. The other guys will want to meet your more personally too.” He waved off the brunettes words “We were all there before, the punishments do that, no one cared. Well it's good to know your name, and as chef said last night, I'm Basil.”

Antonio nodded and smiled. “Ahhh I guess I’ll have to go work with the others too then” he shrugged. “I guess that makes sense. It still sucked. I have been acting so strong then I suddenly break into tears” he laughed. “Well, Basil, I like you and I think that makes us friends, as long as you like me too” he shrugged and smiled.

Basils nodded “So long as you got our back, we got yours. Though we can't help you much with the captain, ya gotta ride that out. You remember all the guys from last night?” He led them over to their next job, much quicker one than the last.

Antonio nodded. “That makes sense yeah. Thank you” he smiled. “Yeah I do, why?” he asked following after Basil for the next job.

It took a few months for Antonio’s back to start feeling okay. He had done quite well so far, earning rewards. He still never told Arthur his name, never really getting a chance to. But he thought it might be a bit important so he decided that since Arthur never asked he’d just tell him. Not that he knew Arthur’s first name yet and that initial was carved on his chest. He knocked carefully on Arthur’s door. “Sir?” he called. “I wanted to talk with you for a moment if you aren't busy”

Arthur looked up from his paperwork for the month when he heard the knock. His brows raised when he realized it was the Spaniard. he was more than a little intrigued by the sudden visit and gestured for him to take the seat across from him “I take it you want to sit down? Is there a problem?” He set down his things so he could  focus solely on the brunette. he had found he was making great progress, and had kept a very close eye on him during his time on the ship, since he was cautious about him suddenly deciding to act out, and he found he was getting a bit more likened to the Spaniard than he has with any of his other men before.  The brunette hasn’t been known to come to him with any problems before so he was a tad worried something big has happened. But he didn’t show any of that, simply letting his curiosity show on his face.

Antonio shook his head. “Oh no, there isn't a problem. I mean there sort of is but it’s on my end and I’m sorta here to fix it anyway. I just. Well I feel like I’ve been here for months and I highly doubt you will try to find my family at this point to be honest. You own me and you don’t even know my name” He sighed. “Actually not very many people do. But I told two of your crew members before I told you” He chuckled. “My name is Antonio, sir. Antonio Fernández-Carriedo. That was all I really needed to tell you”

Arthur blinked before his brows furrowed, that was actually perplexing. He pursed his lips for a moment “Ah why would I try to look for your family? I suppose you’ve been here long enough for me to address you by name. It hadn’t really occurred to me, mostly since usually I get the necessary information on a card when I make my payment but I didn’t get one for  you.” He thought it was odd now  that he actually thought about it before shrugging it off “Well, thank you for telling me now.”

Antonio nodded. “It’s one of the only things I still care about. So it’s leverage” he shrugged. “You didn’t get one because they didn’t have any information. A lot of the scars that I had when you got me were from them trying to force me to tell them who I was. I wouldn’t tell them because I didn’t want them to hurt my family. So I never told them. It didn’t matter how much they hurt me” He shrugged slightly. “I um. Well I don’t know if it’s a slave thing or a formality thing. But I...well I have your initials carved into my chest and I don’t really know your name. I mean I understand if you don’t want to tell me. That’s none of my business. I was just. Well, Curious”

Arthur raised a slight brow “I’ve never heard of slave owners being interested in the family. Unless you were originally a ransom.” He blinked and looked over at the brunette in slight confusion “None of my men have said my name at all in the time you’ve been here?” He might have felt a twinge of guilt  for actually branding the Spaniard when he was reminded of it, but he shook it off a second later “Listen, you’ve been doing very well here. Our next stop is actually a port, I owe the crew sometime to relax and shop on land. And since you have yet to be rewarded properly for your behavior, I thought this would be a good opportunity.”

Antonio shook his head. “I know that you are Captain Kirkland. But all your men address you as the Captain. I don’t know your first name at all” He shrugged. He tilted his head and smiled slightly. “Like, going out off the boat?” he asked. “really?” He would love that. He missed the land quite a lot actually. It wasn’t that he minded being on a boat, in fact he quite enjoyed it. He felt a freedom he had never really felt. But he did miss the solid ground too.

Arthur shook his head “I know for a fact when they aren’t directly addressing me they like to go informal more often than not. but my  full name is Arthur William Kirkland.”He smirked lightly “Great name I heard.” He nodded after a moment “Yes really. Though you’ll be with me, sorry to disappoint. But I don’t have any interest in anything so I suppose I’m just really following you around. However you’d like to see it.”

Antonio smiled. “Sounds like a pretty great name” he retorted with a chuckle. “I think, as a Spaniard, I like Arturo better. But Arthur is alright” he teased. He wasn’t sure if he was at the level that he could do that yet. But Arthur seemed to like him and this was just his attitude. So he’d experiment with it for now. “It’s not disappointing. I am getting a Captain’s escort. A little old slave like me” he chuckled.


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur snorted lightly, unable to stop his expression from showing the altered version was ‘not bad’. Though it probably had something to do with how the Spaniard said it. He shook his head a moment later with a short chuckle “Well when you put  it  that way I suppose you’re right.” Amusement laced through his voice as he sat back in his chair “You will of course have some funds to spend at said shops available to you. I get to approve whatever you want to purchase this time around. And possibly the next few times.” If there were next times, depending on how this one went.

Antonio smirked slightly. He tilted his head. “I get to actually buy stuff too?” he paused. “Really? I um. Well. I don’t even really know what to say” he smiled slightly. “But thank you. I am sure I’ll enjoy myself. I quite miss the land. though I do enjoy the boat” He chuckled.

Arthur nodded “Most do have bouts of sea sickness, which is why I try to have a non raiding trip every couple of months. I might as well admit I enjoy it as well. But nothing will ever beat the freedom of the sea and the thrill of a raid, or the adrenaline and camaraderie when defending the ship itself.” He shook himself  of the trance he was falling in and nodded lightly “I don’t have anything to discuss further, unless you have anything else?”

Antonio paused and chuckled as he listened to Arthur. He shook his head and smiled. “That’s all I really needed to say. I just felt weird without you knowing” he stood and bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, again.” He said before turning to start towards the door, deciding he’d figure out what he was needed for on the ship through either Basil or Bryson since he liked helping them.

Arthur nodded “I appreciate it  _ Antonio _ .” He said it a bit slowly, testing the name out as he watched the Spaniard go. He had to say, now that he knew it, and after such a time, he would have a hard time referring to him as slave. He shook his head and got back to work. They would dock in a a couple days and he wanted this to be done by then so his men could really enjoy themselves.

Antonio got back to working on the chores and helping out while he could. He had to admit he was ridiculously excited to go on this land trip. He would have to clear it of course but he had quite a few ideas of what he might get if they had certain shops.

On the day they docked Arthur had distributed all his crews pay and made sure they knew when to be back on the ship and what to avoid doing lest someone get in trouble. He got  everything prepared for when everyone left and already informed the two who would  rotate between each other on watching the ship and enjoying the time on land. Though Bryson was staying on board like he usually did, Arthur didn’t count him for watching over the ship. Once everyone was accounted for he let them off before looking for the Spaniard.

Antonio was practically bouncing with excitement. He felt like a little kid, but this time he didn’t mind. He saw Arthur let the others off and moved closer to the edge of the ship. “are we ready?” he asked. “can we go?” he was bouncing in place, too excited to contain himself. He looked towards the land. “Are you gonna show me around? I have no idea where we are”

Arthur couldn’t help the amused grin that slowly formed as he shook his head “I want to go over the ground rules first, but yes I can show you around the place. First, there is no wandering away from me. Even if it is an ‘accident’, if I lose sight of you, when I find you, you won’t be allowed on land for however long I see fit. Second, no cathouse. At some other trip if you earn my trust to go alone you can visit if you’d like, but not today so no asking. Third, I keep your funds on me and any purchase gets my approval before it gets bought. And lastly no acting out when around others. Questions?”

Antonio blinked and forced himself to calm down enough to listen to the rules, knowing those were very important. He didn’t even worry about the cathouse bit. He felt no reason to go in there. He just wanted to see the shops and see what he could find off the mental list he had made. The fact that Arthur was keeping the money and had to approve everything made him feel even more like a child but he honestly didn’t mind. So essentially all he had to really worry about was not getting separated from Arthur, since he didn’t really plan to act out. He was far too excited to ruin this for himself. He started to bounce excitedly again. “Nope, let’s go!”

Arthur snorted and nodded “Alright then, let’s go.” He saw how excited the Spaniard was and decided to be a little nice and speed up his pace as he waved for Antonio to walk with him. He figured Antonio would understand the difference between his follow gesture and walk with me gesture. He paused once they were right outside the town “Alright, what kind of  shops  do you want to visit first. Trinkets, clothes, snacks, restaurants?”

Antonio paused. He didn’t even think about where they would be able to get the things he wanted. He wasn’t even sure if this was a strange thing to ask or if it would be weird to Arthur but in all honesty he didn’t care. He stayed close to Arthur, looking around them a bit. “Um. Of those probably trinkets. I actually planned ahead for some of the stuff I wanted to look at. I know it sounds childish, but I actually wanted to look at a toy store if we can”

Arthur shrugged “I don’t really care. I’ve heard plenty of requests that were childish or well there’s the uncomfortable ones too and I would take childish anyday. But if it makes you feel better I have quite a few sentimental items that could be considered toys in my quarters.” He started to head towards the local toy shop “And they do have a toy shop. Probably has what you are looking for. You said you planned out what you wanted? What else is on your list essentially?”

Antonio smiled and nodded. He stuck close to him, following him mostly because he didn’t know where they were going. “There are a couple things I can probably get into a toy shop. I actually wanted to look at some clothes too but I wasn’t sure if that was okay since you mentioned clothes being a part of the rewards and stuff like that.” he shrugged. “I guess I should actually ask before anything how much I am allowed to spend”

Arthur nearly laughed “Whatever money you earn you can do whatever you want with. Obviously you won’t be able to afford the clothes  _ I _ buy but you can get whatever you want. You have exactly twenty shillings to spend.” He didn’t bother correcting the Spaniard on the reward type thing and just shrugged it off. “I hope that’s adequate.” His voice turned to amusement as he stated the last part before heading into the toy shop.

Antonio smiled brightly and nodded. “20?! I think that might be more that I have seen since I was a child. Thank you!” He followed Arthur into the shop and looked around a bit before spotting what he wanted to look at. There was a small section devoted to rock and wood carved small toys. He moved closer to the animal ones and looked through them before smiling when he saw the one he wanted. He looked through them, since they were hand made and would each be different. He found one with a shell pattern he liked and picked that up, looking at some of the other stuff. Despite having what he wanted, he wanted to to look around the shop a bit still.

Arthur pursed his lips and looked down at the money. He had thought of it as more like pocket change. maybe he should rethink how much he paid his men. He shook his head before slowly ambling around the store, keeping an eye on Antonio as he looked around the shop himself. He moved towards the brunette when he saw him pick up one of the toys on display, curious. He sidled up next to him and attempted to peer at what he was holding before looking at the others face “Find something?”

Antonio hummed and looked at Arthur, nodding. “When I was a kid my mamá used to get my brother and I trinkets because she couldn’t afford real toys. My brother showed me how to make them into little animals. But no matter how hard we tried the turtle one's never came out right. I love turtles. So I promised myself I’d get one if I ever got the chance” He shrugged. “This is all I wanted to make sure I got here. I want to look around at other places too so I don’t want to get caught up in one place” he chuckled.

Arthur’s brows raised slightly and he nodded before quickly turning, clearing his throat, not really understanding why he was slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden “Of course. Let’s get the toy then and head on to other places.” He stepped up to the counter and gestured for Antonio to put up the little turtle before he paid for it. Once they were out of the shop he turned to the brunette “Alright where to next?”

Antonio smiled and thanked the worker, taking back his toy and following Arthur out of the shop. He hummed in thought. “A music shop?” he asked. “Or whatever kind of shop sells instruments?” He had to clarify since he didn’t really want any other kind of music, just instruments. Specifically a guitar. He wanted to look at the guitars and see if they had a nice Spanish styled one.

Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly as he thought. He turned slightly before nodding and heading towards the music shop “If I recall correctly it’s this way. What do you want at the music shop?” He couldn’t imagine the Spaniard one of those musical boxes. He pulled open the door to allow Antonio in first and  stayed next to him this time, his curiosity too large to patiently wander.

Antonio stepped inside and tilted his head. “Oh, I play guitar” he smiled. “Another thing from my childhood. I learned when I was young” He shrugged. The Spaniard looked around before finding the guitars and moving to look at them. There were only a few Spanish Guitars, but one of them seemed like it might fit him nicely so he carefully picked it up and strummed at the strings. It was a bit out of tune but he could easily fix that. He sat down carefully on one of the wood stools for a moment to strum it, carefully listening to fix the tuning before playing a few notes. He liked this one, plus it was cheaper so he could get it a case to be safe. He nodded and smiled at Arthur, standing back up to go find a case it would fit in well. He checked the guitars size and the cases sizes and got one for the one he chose. It came with the thin fabric that could be tied around the neck so that was really all he needed here.

Well a guitar was better than most other instruments. He wouldn't mind hearing it on deck if played correctly. Which it seemed like the Spaniard knew what he was doing so he wouldn't really have to worry about that. He nodded before moving towards the counter to pay “Just the guitar then?”

Antonio nodded. “And this case for it. But that’s all instrument wise” He shrugged. He stood near the counter with Arthur and waited for everything to be paid for. “The only other thing I wanted to look at were some clothes. I don’t need too much but like a few shirts and pants a maybe boots, depending on how much is left.”

Arthur shrugged as he paid “I haven’t been to a regular clothing shop in a long time, I can’t tell you the cost. But we’ll find out shortly.” He certainly wouldn’t slip in another shilling or two if it came to it to get the boots, oh no. Once the items were paid for he stepped out of the shop and led the brunette towards the clothing shop. “Is there anything you wanted to see in the town as well besides shopping? We are going by faster than I expected and I wanted to have an excuse to stop at one of the local food shops.” He grinned and gave a playful wink before stopping outside a clothes shop “Here you can get some regular outfits. We’ll stop at another place for the shoes.”

Antonio nodded and chuckled a bit. “Whatever works” He shrugged. “I will get what I can with what I have” he shrugged. He smiled and nodded. “I would love to go to a food shop. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to” he chuckled and smiled. He followed him into the shop and nodded. “Mkay. What kind of clothes would be best for being on the water?” he asked. “Even the cheaper ones, but like. Are they thin? Or thick? I don’t really know what kind of clothes to buy in general. I never really got a chance to buy my own clothes.”

Arthur looked around the shop “Thin. Easier to move around in and faster to dry when wet. Additionally if you fall in the water, it’s a lot harder to stay afloat in heavier clothes.” He pursed his lips as he headed towards the shop owner “Though I don’t know this shop so we’ll have to get the owner to help you find some clothes.” He stepped to the side and gestured for Antonio to explain what he wanted so the owner could help find some things around the descriptions.

Antonio nodded and followed Arthur. He paused briefly and thought for a moment before starting to talk with the shopkeeper about what stuff he needed, humming along in thought for a moment. “I don’t really have any style preference or anything like that. I just want to have something comfortable and maybe a little loose.”

The shopkeeper nodded before showing them a few different options of styles and material to choose before going off that choice. He grabbed a bunch more specific type of clothing once the the Spaniard made up his mind. Arthur stepped out of the way completely and let the other have at it.

Antonio listened to the shopkeeper and smiled. He tried on a few different outfits before deciding on a few options. Laundry wasn’t hard so he didn’t see a need for too many clothes. He only wanted one pair of shoes,  but he decided he’d need at least two outfits.

Arthur leaned against the counter as he waited for the Spaniard and shopkeep to finish sorting through the clothes. He had no interest seeing what the store had to offer since the quality was beneath him, nor did he really care to stand and watch them choose the outfits. Once he noticed they seemed to be wrapping everything up he stood  up from his position and grabbed the small pouch with the Spaniards spending money in it, ready to pay. He didn’t bother looking at it to ‘approve it’ since he would want to tell the brunette he could find better than that elsewhere, and he knew that wasn’t on the budget list. “Find everything you want here?”

Antonio thanked the shopkeeper for helping him and nodded to Arthur. “Yup, so it’s just the boots then” He shrugged. “And then we can go wherever it was you wanted to eat” He chuckled a bit and smiled at the blond.

Arthur nodded and paid for the clothes before handing off the bags to Antonio “I believe we should drop the stuff off on the ship before eating. It’s getting a bit cumbersome with the clothes and the guitar already.” He wasn't carrying much of it so he was mostly assuming it was getting difficult for the brunette and they still had to get boots.

Antonio chuckled and nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll probably actually put on one of the outfits since they are at least slightly better than what I am wearing” he shrugged. He set the clothes down for a moment to put the guitar bag on his back, picking up the other two bags again and then following after Arthur. “I’ll definitely be putting on the boots either way.”

Arthur shrugged and led them to the shoe store. “I don't care really, so long as you don't take too long deciding what to wear first.” He opened the door and let the Spaniard walk in first before stepping in and walking over the owner “I take it you have some idea of what you want?”

Antonio nodded and shrugged. “I want boots I can work in. I’d also prefer if they lasted a bit. But they can’t be too expensive” he explained. He ran his fingers through his hair and started to explore with the owner. He found a few nice pairs and tried them on before narrowing it down and deciding on a pair.

Arthur nodded and went to sit down in one of the available waiting chairs. At least the Spaniard was being sensible. He watched the other go through the available boots, half bored, half curious on what he would choose. When it looked like he was almost done he walked over to see what he seemed to be locked on. “Have you decided?” He lounged against one of the boot racks as he looked down at the other expectantly, figuring he’d want to show off what he picked.


	10. Chapter 10

Antonio smiled brightly and showed off the boots he picked. “I think these ones will work well to protect my feet and be comfortable to work with too. Also they aren’t too expensive” he chuckled. He moved towards Arthur and tilted his head. “This is really all I had in mind to get” He shrugged.

Arthur’s lips twitched in slight amusement at the brunettes excitement. He nodded and turned to head to the counter. He paid once the shopkeeper gave him the price and he gave the small change left over to the Spaniard “Keep that until next time.” He gestured for the Spaniard to follow him as he started back to the ship “I'll pay for your lunch of course since you're accompanying me.”

Antonio smiled and took the change. He nodded and followed after him, holding the boots now as well. He was excited to hear that Arthur would be paying for his lunch. When they got to the ship Antonio brought everything down to the closet. He had been quite excited to move out of the brig into the closet. There was something more comforting about it. He set everything down carefully then quickly put on one of the outfits and the new boots before going back up to greet Arthur again. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Arthur went off to make sure nothing happened while he was gone and talked to the chef and other crew member still aboard while he waited for the Spaniard. He turned towards the Spaniard when he heard his voice and waved half carelessly towards his crew members as he started to make his way off the ship “Alright, let's go then. I’m starting to get hungry.”

Antonio ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. “Alright, lead the way!” he said excitedly, tilting his head. He was excited to get to eat food from a restaurant. He hasn’t gotten to do that in a while. He was especially excited since Arthur was paying and he’d have more money for the next place they went.

Arthur led the way down to one of his favorite restaurants. Probably to the surprise of many it wasn’t one of the high end or fancy kind of food eatery. It was very simple and blended in enough where one would miss it if they weren’t specifically looking for it. “I came here once when I actually had to hide from authorities before I had my ship. Tried the food the second time I visited and now whenever we stop in this port I make sure to stop by here at least once. Owners love me.” He smirked smugly as he held the door open and gestured smugly for the Spaniard to walk in ahead of him.

Antonio tilted his head and smiled. “Oh really? That’s super cool. I bet the food is really good then if you stop here that often” He chuckled. He waited for Arthur to step in after he did before moving to be slightly beside him. He wanted to make sure Arthur was seen first, since despite being treated rather well he still felt slightly insecure being in public. When he was shopping for himself it was different. But they knew Arthur here and Antonio didn’t really know how to act because of it.

Arthur snorted “The food is actually sub par honestly. I only come back because I like the owners and this shop saved me when I was young and reckless so it gives me a sense of nostalgia really.” He followed the other in and took the lead as he sat at his usual spot and patted the seat next to him for the Spaniard to take the hint. He quickly ran over the menu and pointed out the best choices and what he was getting. He tilted his head “So are you ready to order?”

Antonio sat down next to Arthur, wondering slightly why he didn’t suggest he sit across from him. Maybe it was an ownership thing though. He shrugged the thought away and looked over the menu as Arthur showed it to him. He nodded and decided rather quickly what he wanted. “I think so yeah”

Arthur nodded and called someone over to take their order. Once the waiter taking their orders recognized Arthur he grinned and chatted a moment before asking who Antonio was. Arthur waved his hand lightly “One of my men.” He said simply. He leaned back into his seat once the waiter was gone “The owners will most likely make an appearance as they bring our food.”

Antonio smiled at the waiter and shifted a bit. He was honestly kind of shocked to be introduced as one of Arthur’s men, biting down on his lip slightly. He looked at the table and nodded. “You...um. You told him I was one of your men?” He asked. “I mean in technicalities that makes sense. But I never really imagined you’d introduce me like that”

Arthur blinked and frowned “If you'd rather me go back to seeing and treating you as a slave I can do that.” He shrugged lightly. He had figured Antonio had realized by now he was treating him differently. His eyes narrowed as he turned to a sudden commotion and realized the owners were making an appearance before their food arrived. “I was wrong. They are coming now. Most likely because I actually brought someone with me this time around no doubt.”

Antonio’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “no no, I appreciate everything you’ve done and you allowing me a room and bedding and this trip. I was just confused” he said quickly, cheeks heating in embarrassment. He looked over to the owners and his cheeks got darker hearing why they may have come early. “Is this the first time you’ve brought someone else?”

Arthur used the excuse of the owners stepping up at that moment to avoid that answer. He smiled lightly and introduced Antonio as he had before. He relaxed lightly into the small talk and deflected any questions that had the potential to be uncomfortable. The couple was old enough to be more than agreeable and complimentary. They offered Antonio quite a few compliments and managed to get in a comment about how lucky the pirate was before the arrival of the food had them say their goodbyes, so they could enjoy their meal in peace.

Antonio smiled up at them and shifted a bit. He listened to them talk, remaining silent. He was honestly a bit shy around these people and the fact that Arthur avoided his question made him even more shy about it. He thanked them for the compliments, confused. He blushed deeply and shifted a bit before looking at Arthur. He looked down at his food and shifted, wondering if he should wait for the brit to do so first.

Arthur paused and looked over “Did they make you uncomfortable? I was under talking the quality of their food as well if that’s a concern.” He rose a brow in question before he started to eat, pretty much showing it was good. “They were just a bit over excited, and they’re old. Usually they’re much more laid back. I try and visit once or twice a year.” He shrugged before continuing with his meal.

Antonio shook his head. “No, not uncomfortable. I am just not used to this. Compliments and praise from people and all that. I don’t really know if I’ll ever get used to it. I’m sorry” he whispered. He looked at the food and started to eat it. He had been able to eat properly for a while now so he was easily able to eat the food given to him. It was good, actually a lot better than he expected.

Arthur shrugged “no, it’s fine. Took me a very long time to consider them friends and do things like ‘small talk’. they do go way overboard with the compliments. If it makes you too uncomfortable I’ll talk to them after and they won’t bother you too much next time.” He paused “If they remember. Honestly at their age who knows what they remember.” He chuckled lightly before finishing up his plate. He stood “I’m going to pay and talk to them, I’ll meet you back outside.”

Antonio nodded. “It’s not just them actually” He shrugged. “Everything that’s going on right now is kind of..weird. I mean considering I always thought I’d never be bought and then you were so different from everything I learned and now you’re being so kind and I guess I am just confused.” He chuckled slightly at the comment about their age. He nodded, thanking him and standing up. He waited right outside the door. He wasn’t supposed to separate from Arthur but he figured this was best since he said he’d meet him outside.

Arthur scratched the back of his neck “Well pretty sure my men told you they were almost all slaves at one point, it’s how I do things.” He wasn’t going to admit he was being slightly different with Antonio than he had ever been with any of his men. He was trying to sort through it himself at the moment and was hoping once he figured it out he would be able to treat him the same. Though he already took him to the place he was fondest of that wasn’t the sea to meet the most parent like figures to him so he was pretty sure he was fucked in that regard. He paid for the meal, refusing them trying to make it free like every other time he stopped in to eat. He quickly made his way out before they could start asking uncomfortable questions and nearly bumped into the Spaniard as he stepped out. “Right, is there anything you would like to see or do you want to head back to the ship?”

Antonio nodded. He still felt like something was different about what Arthur was doing with him compared to the others. He felt uneasy about how Arthur had dodged his question earlier. He really liked the treatment, it was comforting and he loved being treated well. He just worried that it might be a trick and he had to remain cautious. He smiled slightly when Arthur came back out and nodded. “I just want to look around for a bit if that’s okay. I am starting to get used to the sea and all but I still miss the land every now and then. So I’d like to spend at least a little bit just enjoying the scenery.”

Arthur nodded “That’s understandable. My men feel the same which is the main reason for these stops. Plus they like to spend what they earned. Though most of it goes to waste in those cat houses.” He snorted lightly before turning on his heel to head in the direction of the center of the town “Might as well visit the plaza and then we can wander from there.”

Antonio nodded, following after him and trying to stay close. He didn’t want to get lost or separated by accident now. After walking for a while Antonio started to feel a bit more comfortable and looked up a bit more confidently. He wished he hadn’t been though because if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have noticed the man walking towards them. If he would have thought logically he may have known the man probably didn’t even recognise him. But Antonio knew immediately and it sent a flash of panic through his body, trembling violently and stopping dead in his tracks. He didn’t even think clearly as he reached around Arthur’s coat to grab the gun strapped on his side, pointing it at the man. He only held it there for a few moments, tears building up in his eyes before he quickly dropped the gun. He breathed heavily and dropped to his knees. “l-lo s-siento.” he whimpered softly.


	11. Chapter 11

Arthur was starting to enjoy the comfortable pace and peaceful atmosphere as they walked. He certainly wasn’t expecting to have his gun taken from him and he stook shocked before he whipped around, his anger rising, fully expecting the gun to be pointing at him. Most of his anger was for actually trusting the Spaniard and the rest was towards the Spaniard for breaking his trust like this. His anger was replaced by surprise when he realized it wasn’t pointed at him. He turned to see who it was pointed at and recognized him as the one who he finalized the deal for the brunette with, and saw he had froze when he noticed a gun pointed at him. He whipped back around and opened his mouth to say something before Antonio dropped the gun without instruction. He bent over and grabbed his gun, putting it back where it belonged and frowned down at Antonio as he knelt before him. The man continued walking uncaring once the gun was no longer pointed at him. Arthur pursed his lips “We’re going back to the ship. Follow.” He stated before turning to make his way back to the ship.

Antonio trembled on the ground for a moment, scared to move. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he forced himself to his feet, following Arthur slowly. He stayed within a good distance, not wanting to get in more trouble than he was sure he was already in, but he was slow. He held his arms tightly and pushed them into his chest. He hadn’t meant to. He was panicking and couldn’t control himself. The second he saw the man he felt fear in his whole body and he couldn’t think straight. He put up a tough act, pretending he was fine with the pain and the treatment. But if he had to be honest he had been nothing but scared. The shop was a horrible place and he never wanted to see it again, let alone the people from it that tortured and beat him for hours on end.

Arthur didn’t say anything on their way back. He gestured for the Spaniard to keep following him as he made his way to his office. He was actually conflicted, he was less angry and more frustrated because he didn’t know if this really deserved a punishment. Of course if Antonio had actually done something against him intentionally or broke one of his rules it would be simple. Once he was in his office he pointed at the available chair across from his for the brunette to sit. The blond chose to stay standing, pacing to work off the frustration before he spoke. “The thing I’m upset with is the fact you took my weapon off me without thought.” He began after a few minutes of silence “Your actions don’t really point to rebellion or action against me, but the fact is you still took my weapon. Before I make any decisions I want to know what the hell were you doing.” He finally stopped to face the Spaniard, brows furrowed as he waited for an answer.

Antonio looked at the chair and sat down carefully, still holding his own arms tightly in his hands. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes, a bit embarrassed to be crying still. He didn’t look at Arthur, head down and eyes focused on his lap. “I-I’m sorry” he whimpered. “I-I...didn’t mean to I just. I s-saw him there and I panicked. I couldn’t control myself. I felt like I was lost. I couldn’t even see straight” he whimpered. “I wasn’t thinking and when I realised what I was doing it was too late and I dropped it and he just kept walking like it was fine but it wasn’t fine and I messed up and I should be punished and I’m sorry” he whimpered, breathing heavily and starting to feel himself panicking again. “I’m not strong like I want everyone to think. I’m stupid and weak and I saw him and I panicked because I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to see something that reminded me of everything they did to me”

Arthur blinked at the sudden stream of an explanation. He had figured there would be an apology and something to defend himself but he wasn’t prepared for this. He shifted, slightly uncomfortable for some reason wanted to comfort the Spaniard. He turned away slightly, just so he didn’t have to keep looking at the brunette, otherwise he could feel he would do something stupid. “No, your reaction was understandable.” He paused, debating on offering to comfort the other or listen to him before shaking his head, “I think there’s someone in my crew who could offer shared experiences if you need to ah talk it out or something.” He moved to rummage through his papers on his desk “I’d offer my shoulder but I doubt you’d feel comfortable with me.” He chuckled, it being slightly forced “There’s nothing to punish you for, you’re free to go.”

Antonio sniffled and wiped his eyes. He shook his head. “I don’t like to talk about it” he whispered. “It makes me feel so weak. If I’m going to talk about it with someone I’d rather it be you. You already know how weak I am” He whimpered. He looked up at Arthur when he mentioned offering his shoulder. “I don’t know. I might” he whispered. “But I really don’t want to inconvenience you. Not over my stupid baggage.” he shifted, pausing a moment. He was confused when he was told he wouldn’t be punished. But he was grateful. He didn’t want to be punished. But he also didn’t feel very good about leaving it at that.

Arthur snorted “I wouldn’t offer anything if it was an inconvenience to me. If you need to talk about anything I’m more than willing to listen.” He frowned “Stop calling yourself weak. I wouldn’t have chosen you to be apart of my crew if I thought you were weak.” He moved over and plopped into his chair, he didn’t have any work to do but now he was still a bit tense and didn’t want to deal with his men coming back drunk off their asses in a bit. “I feel a bit bad you didn’t get to tour the town much today, so if you’d like we can do that tomorrow.”

Antonio bit down on his lip and shifted. He believed he was weak and he wasn’t really sure Arthur could do much else to change his mind on that. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed a bit. He looked up at Arthur and nodded. “That would be kinda nice” he whispered. “I just. I miss my family, a lot. And I want to stay strong for them because they need me to be okay. I need to be able to tell them if they see me at any point in time that I am okay and they don’t need to worry about me. But I am not okay” he whimpered. “I’m not strong. Maybe according to you I am not weak. But I am not strong either. I break down at the thought of being punished because I know I am not strong enough anymore. I panic when I see the face of a man I spent so long trying to seem strong to. I just can’t see myself and say I’m strong”

Arthur shook his head “I can’t risk you seeing your family, mostly because if I’m caught, i bought you and would be hanged most likely.” The other reason would be if he gave Antonio the choice to go, like he did with the rest of his men at one point or another, he was very sure Antonio would choose to go. “You have only been here a couple months, you’re still getting used to the fact you’re not going to be punished as you used to be. Even now if I had decided you deserve punishment it’s only a light flogging and extra chores. Unless you decide to do what Elias did and then it is a bit more severe but nothing like you would get as a slave off my ship or like when you first got here. You do realize your reaction is simply because you’re becoming comfortable. It’s not a bad thing either honestly, I see it as a good thing. My men and I will keep you safe so long as you do the same in return.” He was doubting by then end he was actually helping anything and that was one of the reasons he had said the Spaniard wouldn’t be comfortable talking to him about it.

Antonio shook his own head. “I never expected you to let me see them. I just want to be prepared in case it happens on accident. My brother is a slave too. And if I can manage to stumble into the worst person from the shop who is to say we wouldn’t stumble in to him or someone else I knew before I was taken” He sighed. “I would not admit to that” He assured. “I wouldn’t testify or fight against you. If they tried to hang you I’d fight against that” He stated almost defensively. He made a face at the suggestion that he may do what Elias did and shook his head. “I...I don’t know” he sighed. “Maybe the problem is that I wasn’t supposed to get comfortable”

Arthur raised a brow “Really? You would actually defend me if it came to it?” At the mention of a brother both eyebrows raised “A brother? Was he with you or did he get hauled off to another trade?” Arthur frowned and leaned his chin into his hand. He debated on being honest or not with his next words, and decided to go for it and hope it didn’t blow up in his face “I would be upset if you really felt that way, I’ve accepted you as one of my crew,” And more than that but that would be kept silent for now “And am trying to make it so you can be comfortable here. I was hoping eventually you’d learn how to use a sword and join us on our raids. Quite the bonding experience realizing you can protect yourself and your comrades and they do the same for you.”

Antonio nodded. “I would.” He confirmed. “Yeah. He was there” he wouldn’t mention the rest of the information for Arthur. But he was definitely there. He held his arm again at hearing the next part. It was a bit shocking. “You have?” he asked. It made sense since Arthur had brought him to the restaurant and had been treating him so good. It was just so weird to hear out loud. “A sword?” he paused. “I have always been curious about them. I am not sure I could learn. it seems very complex” Perhaps he could use this to change the subject. He didn’t really want to talk about his feelings any more. But he didn’t want to just up and leave either.

Arthur nodded “Yes, I figured once you got used to the routine working alongside my men and settled in better I would teach you how to handle and fight with a sword. It’s actually not that complicated, so long as you pick up how to predict an opponent's moves and are swift with your blade.” He leaned back in his chair as he described the art of sword fighting a bit more, getting a bit too passionate with it and clearing his throat slightly awkwardly when he realized he was talking a bit too excitedly.

Antonio smiled slightly as he listened to Arthur talk. “That’s really cool sounding. I would like to learn.” he nodded. “Especially if you’re going to teach me” He paused for a moment before blushing. “I mean, like, because you seem so passionate about it and all. You’d probably be a very good teacher”

Arthur chuckled “Of course! I taught a couple of my men to sword fight. You’d be surprised to find how many former pirates or any kind of fighter inland gets turned into slaves. You’d be the third one out of my whole crew currently that didn’t know how to swordfight or handle a gun before coming aboard my ship. Though you seem to be able to handle a gun just fine.” He said that last part with equal parts wryness and amusement. He cleared his throat “My apologies for getting carried away talking about it, but you are right, I was introduced to it at a young age and it’s what made me feel able to protect myself and it is an art form in of itself if you are able to watch it be done.”

Antonio smiled and nodded. “I am shocked to hear that” he agreed, tilting his head slightly. He blushed in embarrassment. “I actually wouldn’t have been able to shoot even if I wanted to. I don’t know how” he muttered slightly. He smiled and tilted his head. “It’s really cool to hear you talk about it actually. I’d love to even just sit and watch you fight” he chuckled a bit. “You make it sound so interesting.”

Well it was now Arthur’s turn to blush. Though he covered his up fairly well in his opinion, before he calmed down enough to nod “Yes well, one of these days maybe if everyone gets their duties done early we can set up some practice matches..” His brow raised slightly “Alright shooting lessons will be added back to the list. You got the grip and stance fairly decently though.” He made a gesture to indicate the deck outside his office “Usually the rest of the men start to come aboard now, I don’t know if you want to meet any of them. Though most will be drunk off their asses.” He ran a hand through his hair “The rest will probably try to bring aboard ‘friends’. I pretend not to notice so I’ll be stuck in here for awhile.” He snorted in amusement, already hearing some raucous laughter.


End file.
